10 weeks and no weight loss!

newbies
(Ron) #102

Have you researched dawn phenomenon and how it would pertain to this?

#103

re ^ the body doesn’t respond burn fat in response to a certain level of ketones - that’s not how it works - and there’s something odd about your explanations re: insulin and glucose as well. Insulin isn’t a toxin; it’s a vital hormone. (Literally, vital: we die pretty quickly without it.)

That you don’t quite have a handle on some of the hormonal dance is fine (most of the biochemistry is beyond me, personally!) but you’re making huge sweeping statements that sound factual but are pretty confusing to new folks.

(Maxwell) #104

I didn’t say Insulin was a toxin – I said the “Over Production of Insulin” was a toxin.

(Edith) #105

Hi Miranda,

It can take you over two months to get fat adapted. It depends upon age, activity level, and how strict one is, especially with the carbs.

Carbs are sneaky. I believe it is easy to underestimate how many carbs one is eating. My suggestion for you would be to try being very anal about tracking your macros with the 20g of carbs. Once you are fat adapted then try your lazy keto. If you track the carbs for a while that will give you an idea about how much 20 to grams really is. You may be quite surprised how small it is.

One sign of fat adaptation is your muscles will stop feeling like lead. You may also notice a more steady flow of energy throughout the day, fewer lulls.

Most of us feel this is our permanent way of eating. Don’t feel like you need to rush into trying 50 million different things. Start simple and then as you learn more, try to make things more variable if you like; for example finding carb and protein levels that are optimal for you.

Remember start simple and you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

#106

I’ve never used blood monitors or sticks, but I have stuck to the 20g or less carbs, I’ve just used the way I’ve felt as a guide. (Like rubbish for the 1st 3 weeks, partly because I didn’t get electrolytes right, then after that have gradually started feeling great!). I’m now 3 months in, about at target weight, done some EFs, but I do notice if I ‘relax’ a bit on the carb level, I feel different somehow, so I think sadly that the 20g carb level is going to have to be pretty permanent for me, I don’t think I could do lazy keto. I tracked my macros for a bit, but have pretty much just counted the carbs most of the time- I can understand that’s a faff that a lot of people wouldn’t want to do!
BTW- if I had to cut out HWC I couldn’t stick to this, but n=1, & if it helps you by cutting it out, then worth a try. We all have different journeys- @VirginiaEdie 's post above is very good advice!

(Miranda ) #107

I really appreciate everyones posts although it’s been a very confusing thread. I did figure out that what I meant to ask was about how to become fat adapted- not how to get into ketosis. I understand how to get into ketosis. I have had small amounts of ketones on test strips but today I’m actually up to 1.5. I understand this is related to how many carbs I eat. I know I need to keep my ketones at atleast 1.5 to shift into fat burning. The reason I test so low is because I’ve been eating 20-50 carbs instead of under 20. I was hoping I’d be able to become fat adapted at this amount but I think it’s too many for my body because my ketones are still so low. I thought maybe the length of time eating 20-50 would slowly ramp up my ketones but that doesn’t seem to be the case…any confirmation on this science would be great!

So moving forward- How consistent do my ketones need to be to become fat adapted? I guess this is different for everyone but wanted to ask since thats what I’m working on now.

(Ellie) #108

It is more just a matter of time. If you are in ketosis and not taking on carbs then you will be burning fat. Once your body is good at burning fat then you are fat adapted. How long that takes is a very unique thing for each person but is often around the 6-8 week mark. That said it can be longer, especially if you have had the odd cheat.
It is also not a binary thing. You become gradually more fat adapted over time. You’ll never be able to “prove” that you are or are not fat adapted you just sort of feel better, less hungry, more in control.
Someone said it was like asking how you know you are in love. You just know!
KCKO

(Ellie) #109

Also, remember that the number of ketones shown on the strips does not correlate to the number you are making, only the number you are wasting. As you become fat adapted the level on the strip will probably reduce as you are using ketones not losing them.

(Miranda ) #110

I can tell you that my body composition is the same and scale goes up and down 2lbs…so I don’t think I’m burning anything. I’m definitely not in love! LOL…more worried that I’m wasting my time and doing this all wrong because there’s really not results. Maybe I can go longer without crashing and I don’t crave carbs…which is great but I know it can get better if i stick with it.

I’m in ketosis but eating too much so my body isn’t burning…that’s my new theory. Going to cut down on everything and see if that helps. But it’s good to know all this wasn’t a waste…my body is probably different since I haven’t had ‘real carbs’ ( bread fruit beans) in almost 9 weeks now.

(Ellie) #111

As I understand it
ketosis = body is producing ketones,
fat adapted = able to use ketones effectively.
I have been stuck at the same weight, give or take, for the last 4 weeks but have broken the stall by doing an 85 hour fast.
I doubt that you are eating too many calories, and I don’t buy into the CICO philosophy. I do believe that if you reduce calories then your body will compensate by reducing your metabolism. Personally if I were you I would focus on eating until satisfied but with carbs always below 20 for a week or 2 and then see.
There are some people who can push the carb level and I have from time to time myself, but if I stall then I know that is the first thing to try.

(Bunny) #112

One lesson learned hard going into this looking for the darker pee stick colors?

My first mistake was looking for life-in-the-fastlane-immediate-results, it was bewildering to think and accept that this is a life-time commitment to simply cutting down the sugar and carbs not just the limitations on the “…how do I get into Ketosis protocol?” even if your not in Ketosis (it doesn’t matter), it is not limited to just extreme restricting of the battery supply.

Dr. Fung’s words on “”unwinding the damage”” from “set points” cannot be taken lightly, it is the core of the problem and additionally with a limited amount of brown adipose tissue your going to make it worse by going back to the way you were eating before? It can take days, weeks, months or years to undo the damage and actually lose weight but if nothing happens people think they are wasting their time, when that is not the case AT ALL?

The thinking: 1) “I’m doing this to lose weight?” 2) “I’m doing this for better health?” 3) “If I’m not doing this I will just go back to the way I was eating before because it’s not working?” 4) “If this does not work I will just jump from diet to diet because I want immediate results? (the human body does not work like that, it is designed to survive; meaning; it is not designed to lose weight, only gain).

If being mindful of what I’m putting into this body is just to lose weight then that kind of thinking is wrong long-term because it will not happen if the over-all health is not what it could be or should be (redox potential)?

Processed foods, grains (rancid breads/pastas) and starches and eating too much sugar will kill you much faster, much like smoking cigarettes and takes seconds, minutes, hours, weeks and years off your life-space-time-span…

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(Edith) #113

It is possible that you can eat enough fat that your body burns what you are eating instead of its own fat stores. Remember: it’s fat to satiety, not fat just to meet some number. Get your carbs and protein and then fat to satiety.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #114

With the caveat that you also don’t want to go into starvation level calories.

(Miranda ) #115

I really appreciate everyones posts. It’s hard for me to keep up with the comments because I have chronic fatigue syndrome and trying to figure out this whole keto diet is super exhausting…but I think I’m getting some where because my urine stripes have been pretty dark this whole week.

I eat stevia and use colegate and it doesn’t knock me out of ketosis. I even had whey protein once and I was fine.

So at first I was eating too many carbs and now I’m eating too much fat. It’s very plausible based on my research that I’m eating too much fat and thats the reason I’m not losing weight.

I’ve been eating a ton of fat this week because my carbs were so low but I think it was too much.
I think I want to try eating one meal a day and see if that gets my body to start eating itself.

Or cut back on fat and be patient? I’ve been low carb since April and all week I’ve been in ketosis…does that mean I’m fat adapted and ready to skip meals? My breath does have that sweet taste in the morning but it’s not like acetone. I’ve had that once before after only eating two avocados in one day.

I’m really afraid of getting weak from one meal a day. Right now I do two meals plus MCT oil for breakfast. And now I’ve even been having fat bombs as snacks. I feel so “fatted” up that a fast sounds great. But although I drink tons of electrolyte water I usually get dizzy a couple times a day…usually when I go from sitting to standing…seems to be less after I’ve just eaten. So maybe I’m not ready for one meal a day?

Sorry to be all over the place. Would love more advice about when this ‘burning fat’ will happen because I’m super tired of doing this and not seeing or feeling any results. THanks!!

(Miranda ) #116

I’m going to try fasting. My carbs have been around 15g all week but my fat has been way too high so I’m not burning anything on my body…

(Miranda ) #117

Is it possible that I am fat adapted but eating too much fat?

My muscles definitely still feel like lead. I’m very tired all the time despite sleeping as much as I can…

I’m hoping if I eat less fat and keep my carbs under 20g this magic transformation that everyone is talking about will happen…Ive been very anal about being under 20 (just incase something was off) but over did it with my fats for fear of getting hungry.

(TJ Borden) #118

Sorry if you already covered this, but it’s a pretty long thread now and I didn’t see it; how long have you been keto?

There is no fat goal. Eat fat to satiety, and you definitely don’t want to limit fat until you’re fat adapted. At that point, your body will gladly pull from stored fat and your appetite will generally go down. Cutting fat before you get to that point will jus end up being counter productive.

(Miranda ) #119

This is my 10th week on Keto. I’ve lost some water weight but no serious changes…I’m very confused but determined…

What do you mean “There is no fat goal”? I think I am fat adapted so I should start limiting fat. I ate 163 grams of fat today and felt fine…I can eat a lot of fat and need to limit it I’m pretty sure!

(TJ Borden) #120

The basics:

  • 20 net grams or less of carbs
  • moderate protein scaled to lean body mass
  • fat to satiety

Fat is the one thing you really don’t need to track. The amount of time it takes to get to becoming fat adapted varies for everyone. One of the biggest indicators is the appetite dropping significantly BECAUSE your body starts using stored fat for energy.

Haveing a fat “goal” in grams would imply you’re tracking calories, which is definitely not recommended early on (or at all in my opinion- but that’s a different thread…several different threads actually).

Part of the process is learning to recognize satiety and true hunger. I very rarely eat breakfast. It’s not uncommon to be hungry in the morning, but I’ve learned to recognize that it’s mostly physiological and usually passes in a few minutes.

It varies for a everyone and depends greatly on both how metabolically deranged you are and how much stored energy (how much fat) you’re carrying. If you have plenty of fat to burn, once you’re fat adapted, your body will start using it, and you won’t need to eat as much. The mechanism that dictates how much you need to eat is hunger. Setting you intake based on what an online calculator tells you, you need is a shot in the dark, at best.

(Miranda ) #121

I’m always hungry by lunch and starving by dinner. I only was having MCT oil in the morning because people said it gives you energy but man I’m just tired all the time. I think I will start to skip the oil in the am since I"m really not hungry then.

The idea of eating one meal a day sounds terrifying to me because I hate feeling weak. I guess I need to wait until my hunger lessens naturally for the meals I am eating?

I only started tracking again two days ago because I wanted to see if my ratios were right…then I noticed how high my fat was. My ratios look good…fat at around 70-75%

So if I still feel ravenous at meals, chances are I’m not that fat adapted…is that what you are saying?