Almost two months in, after 20lbs of weight loss, massive stall

(gttechlife) #1

This is my second time doing a keto diet. Last time I lost 40lbs. Then my Mom passed away and it was the perfect excuse to go back to my old ways.

Now I’m motivated and ready to put in the work. I started at 370lbs. The first 3 weeks I lost 20lbs fast. I understand that’s mostly water weight, but it still felt good.

The past 3 weeks have seen no more weight loss at all, just minor fluctuations in the scale up and down in the 350-355 range. 2 weeks ago, after a week of stalling, I incorporated intermittent fasting. I only eat between the hours of 12 noon and 8pm. I’ve read that enhances the bodies production of ketones.

Last week I started going to the gym and getting back into kickboxing and jujitsu. The martial arts classes gave me raining sweat. This week I cut out even more carbs. I exchanged peanuts for snacking with almonds (5 net carb difference per serving). I have mostly stuck with the diet except for some cake at a birthday party over a week ago (which jumped the scale from 352 to 355, a week later I’m still at 355).

I get with the new exercise there might be some muscle based weight gain, but as big as I am I should still be losing. I’m going to keep at it, but what should I be doing differently? What more can I do to restart or even jumpstart the weight loss process again?

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #2

I started at over 350lbs about six to eight months ago and am now stalled at around 300 and have been for the past month or so. Over that duration, I found that if I even had the tiniest amounts of sugar, I’d stall for a week or so. Sugar is incredibly aggressive in knocking out fats for energy. I know everyone is different and some can tolerate some sugars and carbs more than others, but for me, I have to keep them as close to zero as I can…Just something to consider.

(gttechlife) #3

Thanks for the response. I did consult with my doctor, and having zero carbs it’s actually really bad for your overall brain health. You want to get at least your 10-20 per day.

Most of my carbs come from vegetables and almonds. Many of the carbs I get are fiber.

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #4

Yeah…Sorry for my phrasing there. As close to zero means to me keeping close to zero deliberately added carbs or knowingly eating foods that have carbs. Theres probably 10-20 “incidental” carbs as I call 'em in just the everyday foods I’m choosing to eat.

(Omar Newsome) #5

I’m a keto newbie as well, but I’ve experienced this before. Could you be adding in too much dietary fat? One of my favorite phrases I’ve heard since joining keto groups is “You’re body is already high fat, all you need is low carb.” So if you’re putting too much fat on your plate maybe your body isn’t using as much stored fat.

My other advice would be to stay the course and prepare for the whoosh.

(Jennifer) #6

If you are in ketosis and fat adapted, your brain will get all the fuel it needs on zero carbs. It does just fine on ketones and glucose that comes from the fat burning process. I have fasted 13 days out of the last month and I am mentally sharp, focused with a ton of energy.

I am not a Dr and didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night, so I am not trying to make you go against your Dr’s opinion. But, if you haven’t already, check out Dr. Fung’s book Obesity Code. Lots of science in there that refutes your doctor. He also has a lot of articles and videos out there on the interwebs.

(Brad) #7

Actually carbs have nothing to do with brain health.

(Michelle) #8

HI - I would continue tracking every morsel you put in your mouth. I still track to make sure I’m at 20g of carbs or less, and these are the incidental ones from veggies, avocados, sour cream, cheese, dairy,etc.

Keep those carbs low
eat fat to satiety
moderate protein - protein turns to glucose if you eat too much

Good luck, and know that stalling happens to everyone. You just need to examine what’s really going on and tweak a little to get back in the game.

(Dustin Cade) #9

about a pound a week is where i’m at, i’m about 6 months in, I’ve got about 160ish pounds to go, I’m ok with the slow progress, as it is still progress… i only weigh about once a month to every 5th week, I don’t worry about weight, just staying focused on keeping calm and ketoing on…

(G. Andrew Duthie) #10

Pretty sure folks like @amber and @Brenda who’ve done carnivore/zero-carb would vehemently disagree on this point.

If you are not fat-adapted yet, it can be a struggle when you lower carbs to the point where the brain isn’t getting as much glucose as it’s used to, and ketones haven’t yet risen enough to supplement. But once fat-adapted (as noted by @birddog27), the minimal ongoing glucose requirements of the brain can be met by gluconeogenesis in the liver. No external consumption of carbs needed.

If we had to consume carbs in order to keep our brains healthy, fasting would be effectively impossible.

As others have noted, I’m not a doctor, and especially not yours. Just relating what I’ve read, and what has worked for me.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #11

This.
I’m currently at the gym lifting heavy. I’ve eaten nothing but beef steak for 8 days.
I still have perfect cognition. Lol

#SQUIRREL

#12

My feeling is you are trying to throw too much in to the mix too soon. It is really easy to fall into that trap when you have a initial big loss and then slow off but that is actually perfectly normal. You are never going to sustain a big loss week in, week out. I would just find you rhythm and stick to it for a while. Get fat adapted and then start playing around with the details if required.

And, no, ZC is not a problem for brain health! In fact, I was just reading an article today about someone reducing and getting rid of their brain tumour eating this way so…

(gttechlife) #13

So zero carb cures brain tumors now? No, absolutely not, not at all.

We certainly need more research in the field about zero carb diets and brain health, but the biggest double blind study performed to date showed that at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months a 5-8% reduction in scores for memory tests when compared with the control group.

An individual is unlikely to notice a change in memory that small, but an affect is still measured. I’m much more likely to listen to medical professionals and PubMed studies than I am for anecdotes on a forum about this. I’m not looking to do zero carbs.

The advice I AM looking for is how to best end this weight loss stall. My last option would be to significantly cut calories, but that’s unhealthy and unsustainable for the long term. What have some of you used to end stalls. What were your results?

#14

I didn’t say that and neither did the guy in the article.

That is simply not true. It might not be something you are interested in doing - that is fine. But you are making a statement that many can refute categorically. I personally find ZC interesting but it is not for me, simply because I like more variety and love my veggies. There are numerous studies and you can always find one to back up an argument just as you can to pull one down. Let’s not get into a slanging match about something neither of us are experts on. Leave it the numerous people who do well on it - anecdotally and proved through improved health, blood tests and yes in at least one case 180 on a very serious disease.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #15

Patience.

Sometimes a stall is just your body consolidating gains.

Other things have already been suggested. Lower carbs more. Moderate protein.

Other things that haven’t been mentioned: drop dairy. Some folks can’t do dairy and still lose.

BUT…at 6 weeks in, it’s probably too early to call this a stall. You’ve lost 20 lbs in 6 weeks. Congratulations! That’s better than most people manage AT ALL.

Make a plan. Stick to it. And be PATIENT.

#16

Exactly. 2 months in and a 3 week stall is nothing!

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #17

^^WHAT THEY SAID!! Absolutely. No magic answers here. No need to discount suggestions. Try them, or WAIT.

#18

Would you point out the “biggest double blind study” please? As mentioned in one of the 2 keto dudes podcasts recently, our doctors aren’t trained on keto science, they’re trained on the conventional “low fat is heart healthy” wisdom that’s been killing us for the past few decades.

When reading your initial post, I was thinking “this person is still eating too many carbs for their high level of insulin resistance, and they’re not eating enough fat.”

(eat more) #19

i have questions and comments :blush:

are you eating enough?
you mentioned further calorie restriction…could you be in too great of a deficit now?
if you aren’t fat-adapted your body isn’t supplementing your restricted intake with existing body fat
less doesn’t equal more…

you started IF 4 weeks into keto?
you may not be fat adapted and i don’t think IF is recommended pre fat-adaptation
more ketones doesn’t equal faster fat-adaptation…

20lbs in 3 weeks could have been ALL water

i don’t think reducing carbs below 20g is necessary this new in the game

i know it’s frustrating…

the scale is literally a dumb tool that shows no measure of internal progress or composition…it has one job…to weigh things…feathers or steel

6 weeks is too short of a period to undo a possible lifetime of other choices/habits
which didn’t happen overnight and neither will reversal…

20g carbs
.8-1.5g protein per pound of lean body mass
fat to satiety
proper hydration
proper electrolyte management
KCKO

easy peasy

(Larry Lustig) #20

You don’t say how much carbohydrate you’re actually eating, and how much protein. But, if you’re keeping carbs low enough to be in ketosis, not wildly overdoing protein, and really eating within a limited window, you’re doing everything right.

Weight loss is not a straight line, especially for women. There are many reports of people who stall and then resume losing weight, or stall with weight loss but see an substantial loss in some measurements (sometimes waist, sometimes legs and arms). Are you tracking measurements like that?

While it’s true that your brain cannot run entirely on ketones and needs some carbohydrate your body is perfectly happy to synthesize this from protein. 10 grams of carbohydrates would not supply the brain in any case. So this is a red herring.

Who’s taking about brain tumors?

First you said this was information you received from your doctor, but now you say that you’ve researched it yourself. The motto around here is “show me the science”. There are plenty of people around here who have direct experience that runs counter to this claim, but I’m sure we’d all be interested in seeing an actual scientific study that demonstrates this.