10 weeks and no weight loss!

newbies
(Miranda ) #1

I’ve lost about 5 pounds and my weight seems to go up and down 2lbs every week or couple days. I had bad breath once a couple weeks ago but the flu and fatigue are over. I don’t have energy or clarity or fat burning at all. Digestion is still horrible but I use a lot of laxatives to keep things moving. I’m committed to “replacing carbs with fat” and don’t feel tempted to quit but would like to know if I’m doing this wrong or just need to wait longer.

I stopped tracking 4 weeks in because I was going absolutely insane with numbers. I want to do ‘simple keto’.

This is my current plan:

2 - 3 times a week I skip breakfast or just have MCT oil and matcha or a coconut milk smoothie (4 strawberries, low carb whey)
Lunch and dinner:
hand sized amount of protein (fattier the better)
about 1-2 cups of lowest carb veggies
about 2 tbsp oil
half an avocado
about 1oz of cheese

I stopped quest bars and nuts because they are way too addicting. Also cut out greek yoghurt.
Really aiming for no snacks…a few brazil nuts if necessary.

My workout level is about moderately active I would say.

I do have days where I over eat some of these portions and that’s the only thing I can think of that’s keeping me out of ketosis. I pee on the sticks but the color is always on the low end. Is my metabolism just that broken? I wouldn’t be surprised because I have freezing feet and very slow digestion…

When I started I was 143 now I’m 136…sometimes 133 but mostly stuck at 136. I don’t feel like my body is burning fat at all…my goal is 125-130.

Please let me know if this story sounds common or if I’m doing something wrong. I really don’t want to count anything. Could it be I just need to hang in there another two months and then my body will naturally adapt?

Thank you to all who have helped me!
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

If you are constipated, that is a sign of not enough sodium, so I would increase the amount of salt you’re getting.

As for the rest, perhaps I should let a woman advise you. The hormones make keto a very different experience for women. Good luck, and keep us posted.

(Robert C) #3

coconut milk smoothie (4 strawberries, low carb whey)

This might seem safe but it probably isn’t. Smoothies are, by definition, heavily processed - add strawberries and a heavily processed powder and you have something that - when it hits your system, will probably give you an insulin spike. You said “or” but if you did have a BPC or MCT+matcha with that - you’d be sending your body the signal to store fat and supplying the fat to store.

Lunch and dinner look good - especially if “lowest carb veggies” really means leafy greens.
If you stuck with lunch and dinner (always skip breakfast and snacks) then you could have a much larger lunch and dinner and (my opinion) still lose weight. It would be because you kept your insulin so low for so long.

(TJ Borden) #4

Based on where your weight is at and where you’re trying to get to, it’s also important to note that YOUR target weight may or may not be the same as your body’s target weight.

Plus, as you get closer, and you’re pretty close now, it gets tougher. There’s many people on here that will attest to it seeming to being easier to lose the first 100 lbs than the last 10.

#5

@Miranda_1016

I concur with this advice, although not constipated, the urge to poop just wasn’t there. Once I added salt to my morning glass of water, my bowel movements became much more substantial.

Thank you to all who have helped me!
(B) #6

I’d honestly look at some pink rock salt as your body will start flushing salt like crazy when you start fat burning. Also when I was getting into keto i made a rule of i didn’t make it i didn’t eat it. Except butters oils and herbs. It’s possible that the smoothies are doing more harm than good. Also you do not have a huge distance to go with weight loss it’s apparently very hard to get the last few lbs because your body may just be comfortable where it is for now

(Kerin ) #7

Count sugar, carbs and fiber. Occasionally I have had 26 carbs and 10 being sugar. I believe in that I ate the wrong item prior research of it.
Laxatives and vitamins and medication: some can have sugar for absorption.
How are you doing with exercise? Even a half hour walk extra can be amazing!
Down 5lbs.Are your clothes fitting different?
Finally, maybe too much IF. Our bodies are known for being free ‘mods’ (modify), I can’t go more than 15 hours, and that’s even when I begin after 8pm to sleep through it! I feel too tired at work and it affects a lot.
I’m 22 days in. I’ve lost 12 lbs but still am careful with calories too. I add exercise on top of step counting and so far, I enjoy coffee with whipping cream the most! For my sweet, I find egg salad with lettuce nice, and my treats are 8 grape tomatoes.
It’s nice to be part of this forum too.
Don’t give up!

(Miranda ) #9

I meant I usually do the MCT OR smoothie. Sometimes I just fast and have neither. My whey is the whole foods brand and only has 2 net carbs. It’s not more carbs than in my salads or veggies I have lunch/dinner. Do you think this is still a problem?

(Robert C) #10

The carbs in whey are not what spike insulin. This article explains it well…

Also, some great advice I heard on a podcast recently about carbs.

Only use “net carbs” on whole real foods.
For example, a small peeled apple will then contain about 17 grams of total carbs, including 2 grams of dietary fiber (so 15 grams of net carbs).

Do not use “net carbs” from food labels. They play all sorts of games (since they are not well regulated) to get essentially a candy bar to have almost 0 “net carbs” on the label (from a chemical perspective) but, in fact, the way your body reacts is probably going to be closer to having had a candy bar.

(less is more, more or less) #11

Perhaps I’ll get a badge for the same response three times in a row.

Ditch “net carbs.” Count them all.

(Miranda ) #12

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Just says 2 carbs straight up. Nothing about net. Is this really that bad?

(Miranda ) #13

This makes sense because I’ve been having quest bars and/or whey atleast once a week and I think it’s throwing me off despite them being low carb. Greek yoghurt does the same thing I think.

(less is more, more or less) #14

In my WoE, I’ll take animal fat and protein over plant-based protein any day. I believe @RobC provides more of an explanation but I personally see zero value in powdered protein.

(Robert C) #15

That type of thing might throw you off - toss them before they throw you off anymore.

The hard part is that there is no “rule” - what makes you spike might not make someone else spike. Even trying to go zero carb for someone who’s ancestors came from near the equator might really mess them up.

Or, drop an Eskimo in a jungle on the equator. They might be diabetic in no time eating the same things as a bunch of healthy skinny locals.

If you are really curious - do the 23andme test (the expensive one is well worth the extra expense!). That can give you some ideas of what you might want to do/avoid (including some cancer risks - so, not always good news but, knowledge is power in this case).

(Miranda ) #16

Also- I drink this all day long- do you think it’s keeping me out of ketosis? It helps a lot to keep my potassium up.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IIGQ5KG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

(Robert C) #17

My opinion is that this looks pretty good from a general supplement perspective. It doesn’t have a bunch of concentrated anything (i.e. not 3000% daily vitiamin C or something) - but instead, low levels of several keto helpful things. If used 3 times a day, would be a good backstop to ensure you’re getting enough of each. At 3 a day this stuff is a little over a dollar a day (Amazon prices).

I do not know anything about the Rebaudioside A sweetener so that is something to keep in mind in terms of the effect on your gut or other risks - it seems like it has only been around about a decade (mentioned in this article as being derived from stevia):

Getting through the first few months of keto - probably not a problem. I would use not it continuously for years though - instead trying to transition to getting everything you need from natural sources.

(icky) #18

Why do you say you’re not in ketosis? How do you know? Have you tested?

I dare say you are in ketosis, but not fat-adapted.

(Chris Robertson) #19

I have found that it’s easier to stay in ketosis than it is to get into ketosis. If your diet has under 20g carbs and you are not getting into ketosis I’d try fasting. A 24hr dry fast is much more effective than a wet fast so you might want to consider trying that and then seeing if you get results. If you don’t fancy the idea of a dry fast then a water fast or a fat fast would still be beneficial. MTC oil is very easy for your body to absorb and doesn’t cause an insulin spike so if the only food your body is getting is MTC oil it could encurage your body to start using the oil as fuel rather than storing it.

Also avoid any drinks that contain carbs or protein. In the form of a drink carbs and protein are absorbed much faster and can making getting into ketosis more difficult. Stick to whole foods.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #20

I thought if you were under 20 grams of carbs you were either in Ketosis or dead. Is it really possible to be that low in carbs and not be in Ketosis?

(Chris Robertson) #21

It is possible. A lot of it is how quickly the carbs are absorbed. If they are in a form that absorbs quickly, like a shake, then it can prevent ketosis. Also, not all carbs are created equal. 20 carbs from sweet potato are going to effect ketosis significantly less that 20 carbs in the form of white flour.