Advice welcome

(April Wright) #1

I have been eating keto for 2 weeks. I enjoy the foods and freedom I have with this change in diet, but I have been without sugar and very little carbs now for 2 weeks and I have not noticed any change. In fact, I’ve gained 4 lbs. I was excited to start keto to help myself become healthier and as a personal challenge. Any advice on why I could be gaining weight?!

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #2

First, welcome, April!

Second,
How many carbs is “very little”?
What kinds of things are you eating? Please provide a sample of what you normally eat on a daily basis.

Third,
It takes time. I wouldn’t stress about 4lbs. Your body is going through some major changes, and finding the right balance of what & how much to eat can be a challenge. Also, make sure that you are eating enough. Don’t restrict calories. Drink water.

Fourth,
check out:

(April Wright) #3

For breakfast I have an an omelet or hard boiled eggs and a half an avocado. I usually have a stick of cheese and pepperonis for a snack. I work 12-hour shifts so sometimes I don’t get lunch, but when I do I’ll have a chicken salad or tuna salad with a veggie. I drink quite a bit of water throughout the day I would say 64 Oz. I’ll snack on some pork rinds towards the end of my shift and most nights I don’t eat dinner because by the time I get off work it’s too late to eat

(April Wright) #4

I have been trying to stay under 25g of carbs. I use an app the counts my calories, carbs, proteins, and fats.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #5

What macros are you using?

(April Wright) #6

With my current weight and my goal weight, it was calculated that I have no more than 25 grams of carbs 83 grams of protein and 105 grams of fat. There is so much information out there for this diet that it’s hard to know what information is the best. I’m so new at it that I’m just kind of winging it

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

Sounds as though you might not be getting enough calories, for one thing. Be sure that when you eat, it’s enough to satisfy your hunger, since even in a low-carb context, the body will hang on to its fat reserves if it thinks there’s a famine going on. Try setting your app to “maintenance” mode and re-running the numbers. A ketogenic diet is different because we are relying on our body’s hormonal response in order to free up fat to burn, not on restricting calories.

Also, your monthly cycle will have an influence on the pattern of your weight loss, so don’t be dismayed by periodic fluctuations. And another thing, it is possible that your body might pack on some more muscle or strengthen your bones, even as it sheds some excess fat, so weight loss might not be the best guide to progress in such a case. Keep track of how well your clothes are fitting, in addition to your weight. The level of our insulin resistance also affects how easily we can lose weight, and that can take a few weeks to get sorted.

All in all, please give yourself a bit more time before deciding that keto isn’t for you. A lot of women on these forums had to wait quite some time, before fat started coming off satisfactorily. Not everyone responds as rapidly as the people in some of those stories you read.

#8

Great advice so far and I would just add:

take measurements (do it today - take your measurements! upper arm, upper thigh, waist, bust, hips); they’ll generally be a more reliable indicator of progress than the scale is

try to cut out the snacking because the point is to reduce the number of times you spike insulin over the course of a day. If you’re snacking because you’re hungry, move the cheese and pepperoni up to join your breakfast. If you’re snacking out of habit/boredom, just take a walk instead!

sadly, some of us find that any dairy stalls fat loss. Maybe don’t cut out the cheese just yet, but keep that in mind.