Almost 45 days on Keto and hit a wall

(Jay) #1

Hi all,

I’ve been on Keto for almost a month and a half and seem to have hit a wall at 195 lbs. I started at 204 and I’m sure a lot of the initial weight loss was water weight. I’m 41 years old and have been working out a lot mixing alternating days of crossfit/HIIT circuits and regular lifting with 2 days off. I have lost almost 4 inches off my waist, but have stalled the last 2 weeks. I did cheat a couple weekends where I was knocked out of Keto. The first time it took almost a week to get back in, while the second only took a day. My urine strips consistently read 4.0 in the mornings and much lower right after getting back from a workout. I don’t eat a whole lot and also mix in intermittent fasting about every other day (18 hr fast). My workout partner who got me into Keto seems to think I’m not eating enough and it has slowed my metabolism, but I don’t think that’s the case. Usually for lunch at work I’ll eat an avocado and some sardines, with about 2-3 servings of almonds throughout the day. Then I’ll eat a normal dinner (this past week was the pesto chicken dish from Diet Dr. with Spinach, Chard, Kale mixed in). I make sure to get a lot of saturated fats and omega 3 and I also take potassium, magnesium, zinc, cinnamon, and fish oil supplements. I don’t track my macros, but I know I’m not coming close to hitting my protein cap. Half the time I’ll take a whey protein shake, which is about 22 grams protein and only 10g carbs. I know whey isn’t the best thing to take on Keto, but that can’t be the only thing that’s holding me up. Oh, I also drink ACV twice a day. Any ideas?

(Sophie) #2

Maybe you are at a point where you should start tracking your macros just to see exactly what you are consuming. Your partner may be right in that you aren’t eating enough or the whey may be throwing you off, but you won’t know until you start to track that stuff. You might even need more fat, who knows? We’re all different.

(jilliangordona) #3

Here is one problem that may be there. If you are consistently not eating enough you may be slowing down your metabolism. Consider adding in more feast days, where you eat and eat and eat (keto) and rev your metabolism, following by low calorie or fasting days.

Second, you may need to reduce protein. I do heavy weights, yoga, and OCR training and I don’t consume protein shakes. I keep my protein around 70 (I weigh 180) and do not lose an ounce of muscle. I would consider giving up your protein shakes too.

Edit: sorry I read your one statement as “I am coming close to my protein cap” I missed the “not.” So my second point may be null… but I would still nix the whey protein personally

(Judi Campion) #4

I see a couple of red flags here that were my issue a few months ago.

Not eating enough. It was hard to let go of the habit of restricting food. I still struggle occasionally. Eat well and until satisfied.

Using whey protein, just don’t use it. It’s got too much protein and often has sweeteners which both can stall you.

I was tracking so I was able to review my food log to figure this out. I also dropped my protein consumption down to 15%, carbs 5% and fats 80%. I aim to hit my protein goal, remain at or under in carbs and use fat as a lever. I currently eat about 75% fat and I’m finally losing.

Also don’t snack on nuts. Add them to a meal. It’s not only what you eat but when you eat.

#5

Completely agree with everything. Ditch the whey, add fats and avoid snacks. There is a Fung blog post on this, the more times you eat in a day the higher your insulin goes

Also, almonds are a moderate carb nut, brazil (do not eat too many for other reasons), pecans and macadamia are lower

(Carpe salata!) #6

Apart from the other good comments, some people have posted weight loss graphs and they generally have a stepwise pattern. That is, drop then plateau… drop then plateau…

In other words, #KCKO. :slight_smile:

(Barbara Greenwood) #7

4" off your waist for only 9lb weight lost sounds like your adding muscle to me.