7 weeks in, zero weight loss or BMI reduction

(Angela ) #1

Hi everyone, I came across this forum tonight after spending countless hours searching online for answers as to why I’m seeing very little results. I’m feeling defeated and frustrated. I could really use your help.

About me: 43 female, 5’3”, 142 lbs. Former tech exec for 18 years. Recovering sedentary. Quit job, solo travel writer,

Keto Timeline / Health Journey: Last October I was 154, did Ketos for a few weeks and dropped to 146 and have since kept it off. From Jan - Jun I traveled throughout Southeast Asia So followed their local diet, even eating rice, and dropped to 140 lbs. In June, I returned stateside and with eating mostly healthy food (nothing processed) I gained a six pounds back.

On August 2, I started Keto again - no dairy, no sweetners, 1200 calorie diet, macros 5% carbs, 75% fat, 20% protein. Logging on My Fitness Pal daily and tracking to < 20 net carbs. At the same time, I bagan working out with a personal trainer 3 x week for 60 min each doing HIIT and resistance/ strength training.

August 12 - consistent diet, working out and calories, I lost 3 lbs.

Sept 1 - no change. Upped my workouts from 3 x week to 5.

Sept 8 - did a very strict Keto soup meal plan from I Breathe I’m Hungry of less than 20 g of carbs and 1200 calories. No cheating. Zero change on the scale. Still working out 5 x week.

Sept 15 - started IF 16:8. Using Perfect Keto Exogenous Ketones 30 min in the morning before my workout. Still working out 5 x week with trainer. Trying to add some walking in too. No change on weight. Added bulletproof coffee to my first meal and Fat Bombs to help with macros and satiety.

Sept 27 - Still no change. 142 lbs. Earlier in the week I was feeling hopeful as the scale dropped to 140.7, then 140.2 but I woke up this morning and lo’ and behold, I was back to 142! I somehow gained 2 lbs in my sleep!

I weigh myself every day (I know you’re not supposed to but I do it simply to log in My Fitbit and My Fitness Pal apps, just like logging my food. Plus, not weighing myself is what caused me to gain 30+ lbs the past 8 years).

After almost 2 months, my weight is still 142. But to see a better picture, I measured some other states on my bow flex scale.

BMI: 29.5% Water: 50.5% Muscle Mass: 42.1 Bone Density: 6.1

I haven’t lost any weight since the first two weeks which was pretty minimal. I haven’t lost any body fat. The working out is helping my muscle mass growth but I don’t want to bulk up but rather lean out. So my trainer is trying to figure out if I just need to do cardio and HIIT.

I drink 96-100 oz of water a day.

I used Nurse Hatty’s ketostix and show trace of Ketones but realize that they may be expired so ordered another set for arrival tomorrow.

As I mentioned, i don’t use sweetners, or make Keto desserts. I’ve cut alcohol. I don’t indulge in nuts. I added some dairy, mainly string cheese, ghee, and some cream cheese this past week. Im eating 1200-1400 calories. I’m working out for the first time in my life which is making me stronger and it’s improved my mood but I’m not seeing a lot of changes. I’m not snacking and generally feel satiated.

I’m just frustrated. If I’m giving up wine and not cheating, working out, and watching every morsel of food, sleeping well and I have minimal stress. Son why is the needle not moving on weight or BMI? I just want to loose some of the unnecessary fat.

Any coaching or advice you can give me would be appreciated. I’m seriously eyeing my wine fridge right now!

#2

what is your goal? getting leaner? changing body comp? decreasing inflammation?

you seem all over the map and hyper focused on minutia. this is generally detrimental as your anxiety over microscopically analyzing ever partical of food and change in scale will mostly likely derail your goals unless you thrive on control. people who enter fitness or body building competitions thrive on this level of scrutiny, and can put up with the discomfort that comes with what they have to do to achieve their goal.

the scale lies, your weight can easily fluctuate a few pounds depending on hydration, fecal matter etc. compound that with the hormone cycle as well.

if your goal simply is to “lean out” and that is not your natural genetic state, then you need to eat a very high protein, ultra low fat, virtually zero carb diet (or a PSMF) type of diet. however most people cannot do it long term and it is demonstrably unhealthy. Dr Ted Naiman talks about it frequently.

It is not true that if you do 'all the right things" you will look like a fitness model/competitor. genetics makes up a huge part of it. Most “ripped” athletes are not in fact on a keto diet. there are usually on a “clean diet” but most likely eat tons of carbs. It has more to do with exercise level, genetics and being young.

the simple fact is your body has a “set point” it wants to keep, and will stay there even when eating a very healthy, nutrient dense optimal diet.

If you want to get significantly leaner than that you will have to force it to go lower than it wants by eating a PSMF and ramping up the fat burning exercising.

(Frank) #3

1200 cal/day and working out 5xs per week? Are you hungry? If the current pattern of eating and activity isn’t working try something different maybe? Work out less or not at all and eat when your hungry. It doesn’t sound like you have anything to lose by doing a little n=1 experiment. Give it a shot. You’ll probably see pretty quickly if it’s not working the way you want it to.

#4

A few things:

  • Totally get your frustration, it’s tough to make such concerted efforts and think that you aren’t getting the results. However…
  • First thing: IGNORE THOSE BOWFLEX NUMBERS. Those impedance based measures of body fat % are essentially worthless. It can vary wildly based on how hydrated you are.
  • Don’t forget that your scale is just showing overall weight. If you’re working out with a trainer and feeling stronger then you are likely adding muscle (or replacing fat with muscle). Muscle weighs more than fat so it can make you appear “heavier” than you really are on the scale. Have other measurements changed? Do your pants fit better?
  • Drop the Exogenous ketones and the measuring strips. Your body makes its own ketones, I have yet to hear of any real benefit from adding to them unless your body is out of fat to use? The measuring strips are very unreliable. There’s pretty much just one thing you have to do: Keep your diet to <20ish net carbs per day. If you do that, then you ARE IN KETOSIS no matter what the pee sticks say.
  • Sounds like you’re making huge strides for your health! Congrats on making big lifestyle changes and making progress!
  • Don’t go back now! You’re likely approaching the “fat adapted” stage. Don’t quit before the magic happens! Things are only going to feel better as your body adapts to the new diet.
  • As you get more fat-adapted you should start feeling a decrease in appetite and then you can start moving into Intermittent Fasting which will also help extra weight come off.

In short, good things are already happening (so give yourself some credit) and more are coming! Don’t get discouraged by incorrect or meaningless measures like those from your Bowfit. If you want accurate numbers look into getting a Dexa scan.

(Chris) #5

Your metabolism is tanked. You need to UP those calories to get it kickstarted again.

Save your money and eat real food. All of this is wasted.

That’s not BMI.

More or less irrelevant, drink when thirsty, and don’t stress about the amount. Water can be poison, too.

Please stop ordering these, they are also a waste. Once you adapt you stop wasting ketones in the urine.

These foods aren’t tolerated by many people, do you have access to fresh meat?

All in all your biggest problem is the amount of food you eat, from what I see, and after that it’s relying on things that won’t help you achieve your fat loss goals at all. I suggest you bump your calories up to something like 2000-2400. You’ll probably gain weight initially, but you’ll start to actually rely on that amount of calories. Restriction for too long will always cause metabolic slowdown. One must cycle calories if they’re counting, in order to counteract this.

Glad you’re here. :slight_smile:

(Angela ) #6

Thanks for taking time to respond.

My goal is to be healthy, feel energetic and strong, and lean out. That’s why I decided to go Keto. I spent half my life at 115-120 lbs. but in the last 5 years my lifestyle tacked on an extra 30 lbs. I’ve tried to eliminate weighing myself every day and I think that’s helping.

(Angela ) #7

Mnketo46 - Funny thing is that I haven’t been hungry! But I’ve tried to not focus as much on calories and just pay attention to my macros and that seems to have helped. I’ve been eating more in the 1500-1800 range and over the last week or so, I’ve lost a pound! Finally! Thanks for the feedback!!

(Angela ) #8

@MrMartyJones - Bless you for this encouraging message! Really lifted my spirits!

So first things first, this is the first time I’ve ever committed to my health and I feel mentally and physically better. I’ve lost a few pounds in a couple of months, and while I had expected to loose more, I’ve lost 2.5” off my waist and 1.5” off my hips. I’m sure it’s the combo of HIIT and strength training plus the Ketos. I actual can see the makings of a shapely arm and a muscular stomach (nestled in the fat - but it’s there!!). And I just bought a new sports bra and lo’ and behold - I went down a size. So those are the wins that I’m celebrating. Thank you for reminding me to reflect on those! :pray:t2: I think my expectations of keto were maybe over ambitious since some people talk about loosing tons of weight a week.

As for your other advice,

…I’m not going to mess with that BOWFLEX scale. If my trainer asks me to do it, I’ll just take the numbers with a grain a salt.

I know the Exogenous Ketones are controversial. I haven’t really noticed their benefit, except when I drink them before my workout, my face turns beet red and I have overstated sense of strength :muscle:t2:! Oh and they upset my stomach!! :grimacing: So I won’t be buying those again. I guess from all the research I did, I thought having the Exogenous ketones would bump my ketone levels up to 4+ and that would make me burn more fat. It’s refreshing to hear from others on this forum that this supplement isn’t necessary. Not to mention, it’s expensive.

Thanks again, and cheers to your good health!

(Angela ) #9

Thanks Chris! Glad I’m here too! I really appreciate your feedback. I’ve upped my calories, and pretty much all together stopped counting them except to track my macros/net carbs. In the past week of doing so, I’ve seen a 1-2 lbs weight loss which puts my weight into the high 130s - hurdle I’ve been trying to tackle for awhile. As another forum member encouraged me to do is focus on the positive so far: I’ve lost 2.5” inches from my waist, a little over an inch in my hips, my arms and stomach are taking a nice shape and most importantly, feel awesome. My mood is shifted by 100%. I need to just focus on that for now. Thanks for the encouragement.

Oh I also reduced my workouts with my trainer from 5 days to 3 days so I could allow more recovery time.

Not sure it's gonna happen
(Frank) #10

Great news

(Chris) #11

Angela! You rock! I’m so happy to hear this, great job!

(Running from stupidity) #12

What Chris said here. (And the others, of course.)

Man, do I know what you mean. I’m fat-adapted, and so yeah, my body is using body fat to fuel itself, but I want to train it (while losing weight, i.e. for the entirety of my foreseeable future because I’m a fat bastard) to need a lot of calories each day, not a a few. That way, when I feed it less (1MAD, fasting, whatever) it still runs at the same metabolic rate and therefore utilises that extra required energy (given I’ve eaten less than needed) from my vast fat reserves. So I’m eating in order to achieve that. Eating as a job? Feels like it some days, yeah. I just had breakfast in order to be able to get my three meals in today as as 2MAD makes it really hard for me to get in the amount of energy I need on an eating day in order to achieve the above.