Apologies, topic not new... I Need Help!

(Sherri) #1

Hello Everyone,
I just found this site; apologies, as I know this topic is not new… however,
I need help! This may be my final effort… I’ve seen several questions regarding ‘not losing weight’, along with the replies, however, I believe I’ve done pretty much everything I am supposed to, yet I don’t think I’ve lost at all! My clothes all fit the same; (I don’t keep a scale secondary to past eating disorders - over 15 years ago). Anyway, I stopped eating most processed foods appx. 3 years ago and I began the Keto diet in early December. The only time I cheated was 2 days over the Christmas season, then immediately back on. Since late December, I’ve kept my carbs below 15 (and/or 20).
I am a salad and veggie freak (mostly ice burg lettuce), however, I didn’t even eat lettuce up until 1.5 weeks ago. I had been using cauliflower for recipes up until mid-early January, though, I even stopped that. Out of desperation, I started the egg fast diet (lasting only 4-5 days, as there was still no apparent change). In early January I finally purchased Ketone strips; I’ve never seen them detect more than slight to minimal traces, with the exception of one day (the strip finally turned very dark). The only change I could figure was that I had been doing heavy yard work the day before, which lasted close to 2 hours. Last week, I finally made myself start exercising again last week, (HIIT exercise) for 25-35 minutes per day, though, the strips are still light in color and my clothes still fit the same.
Since late December I also cut out sugar substitutes and for the most part I try not to eat peanut butter and I limit my cheese (the only dairy I eat). Initially when I started the diet, my blood pressure appeared to go down; however, over the past 3-4 weeks it is high again.
I am 51 y.o. Female, premenopausal; I’m 5’6.5” (have to get that .5” in there) and approximately 152-154 lbs. I know I have a hard time figuring out my fat/protein intake ratio (as far as possibly not getting enough fat); however, I don’t think this would make THAT huge of a difference (to not lose Anything)!
My mom was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s; however, I’ve been checked (in the past) for thyroid issues and tests always come back ‘normal’.
I realize the next step for me would probably be to begin exercising more than 35 minutes per day; however, I get kind of ‘irritated’ and think, ‘that’s not fare’, (I’m suffering enough with this diet)! I have an appointment with my Dr. in a week, but everyone (Dr’s included) seems to think, ‘I look healthy’ and ‘I’m not TOO overweight’, so I think they write it off. I get good sleep every night. My only vice is drinking wine; I limit it to 2 glasses of Pinot Noir per day (2 carbs per 4oz. serving), if I drink it… I didn’t drink it during the egg fast and no change…
If any of this sounds familiar and/or you may have an idea as to ‘why’ I’m not losing anything, please advise!

As I said, I have not ‘participated in my eating disorder habits’ for appx. 15 years. I stopped the sugar substitute, I don’t eat processed junk, I try to get enough fat (but the exact ratio is difficult for me to figure out). I limit my cheese (the only dairy I eat) to 2-3 oz. per day. I am otherwise healthy, no other Dx.

I really don’t want to go off the diet as I fear I’ll only gain wait; however, without seeing any results/changes, it is difficult to be/keep motivated!!

(Pete A) #2

Why do you have a hard time figuring this out? Are you tracking your foods and their macronutrients?

I’m curious everything you eat in a typical Keto day.

(Rob) #3

You would need to tell us what you are eating (macros and calories).

2 Major thoughts

  1. Track your food in LoseIt, MyFitnessPal or Cronometer so you know what you are eating (macros and calories)
  2. You are still adapting probably (at best) - at worst you are calorie restricting so probably not even adapting yet.
  3. You don’t need to exercise to succeed on this WoE so if you are not enjoying it, stop for now to focus on nutrition. Exercise is probably just contributing to calorie restriction.

Let us know what you are eating and KCKO!

(Sherri) #4

I’m embarrassed to say,
no, I’m not tracking macros.
I didn’t think I had to :flushed:.
I’ve been looking at the apps you suggested. Thanks! If you don’t mind,
I’ll text back as I figure things out…
Pretty much throughout the day, but mostly all at night, I eat a few eggs (mostly egg whites), 2-3 Tbs of mayo, a couple servings of chicken (white meat), 2-3 fat bombs with coconut oil, cocoa and almond butter, a couple oz. of cheese and lately a small head or two of Romain lettuce. A lot of water (primarily carbonated), some days a lot of tea and
1-2 glasses of Pinot noir. Looking at everything, it looks like I may be eating too many calories, right?

(Consensus is Politics) #5

Stop exercising. Trying to burn off calories doesn’t really work for weight loss. It tends to slow your metabolism to preserve fat. I’ll bet you feel colder too. That’s a sign that your body is reducing energy usage where it can, the biggest energy usage is heat production.

How often are you eating a day? There is a misconception that eating smaller meals spread out over a longer time frame is better for losing weight. In truth, eating all of your daily calories in one meal would be best. If unable to do that, then only eat in a small window of time. A six hour or less window. Say between 9 am and 3 pm. Whatever time frame works, keeping it as small as possible. I do one meal a day, usually around 3 pm now.

I was having a problem being stuck at a plateau. I finally figured out what it was. I was taking supplemental fiber, store brand Metamucil. Turns out it contains large amounts of maltodextrin. Which has a higher glycemic index than sugar. Almost twice as much. So what was happening in my case is my insulin wasn’t going down, but staying elevated. Which is why you want to keep for food intake in small a window as possible, to keep insulin as low as possible for as long as possible. Insulin production halts fault burning and puts your body into fat storage mode.

Keep calm and, well, you know the rest.

Keto Vitae!

(Lol, my iPhone autocorrect now recognizes that when I type in keto🤠)

(Consensus is Politics) #6

You don’t have to track them. Just try to be aware of how much you should be eating of protein. It’s important not to eat too much protein as that can get converted into sugar and possibly derail Ketosis.

In the beginning, I tried tracking it and gave up really quickly. I just know how much protein I need to eat and try to keep it there or below when in doubt. Eating less protein than you should isn’t going to hurt you in the short term. It’s over months and months with a protein deficit that your health will begin to degrade. Mostly because your body is missing required proteins to build what it needs to. For someone like me, that recently lost a lot of weight, that’s a good thing to do. It allows the body to autophage and get rid of all this excess protein in the form of skin that’s just hanging around (yes, pun intended, and I had to work on it for a minute :sunglasses:).

(Keto in Katy) #7

Why avoid the yolk? That is the most nutritious part.

Just my opinion but… white meat chicken tastes like sadness. Eat a fatty steak.

(Trish) #8

I would say stop the wine. Your body will burn the alcohol before it ever even considers burning fat every time.

(Sherri) #9

I Love White meat chicken! Not a fan of egg yokes (plus many more calories)!
Never been a fan of steak or any meat that requires ‘chewing’ (Hah, But oh so true)! I’ll be checking out your suggested apps this evening!
Because of my work schedule, I pretty much do eat one snack and one meal per day. Thanks for your input though, as ‘we’ve always been told otherwise’, so it always made me wonder…(?).
And thank you for the input on exercise! (Thank goodness!)

Thank you Sooo much Guys/Gentlemen! One thing I do know, I’ll at least be able to make it through the rest of the day/night now! Thanks again!

(Sherri) #10

As far as the wine, (I know you’re right, that’s the reason I didn’t mention it until the end).
However, for some reason, I always feel like I need some kind of vice… Maybe when/if I get desperate enough, but I’ve already cut out most everything I love (including the amount of wine I drink). Hopefully, I’ll be able to cut it all out at some time, though right now, with 4 kids and 2 jobs, it’s really nice to hang out with family/friends and have a glass or two.

(Trish) #11

I understand about the wine. I made several batches in November and then started keto so have a gross of bottles that I’m not allowing myself to enjoy. I do think though that it could be the problem. Also, you really do need to track what you’re eating as it’s amazing what the actual numbers are compared to what we think they are. Lately, try to view things not as though you’re being deprived of things but rather that you’re doing something positive for your overall well being. Eat to live; don’t live to eat.

#12

why white meat chicken and egg whites?

#13

I really dislike encouraging people to stop exercising… the benefits so outweigh the fact that some believe it affects the scale negatively. Besides, the OP has a history of an eating disorder and exercise is so beneficial for psychological health.

OP, it seems like you are making yourself massively unhappy overthinking this and saying things like “I’m already so unhappy on this diet,” and “I guess I’ll have to force myself to exercise more.” It makes me think about how stress itself can negatively affect our health and ability to lose weight.

(Lonnie Hedley) #14

^^^ yep, stress releases cortisol. Raised cortisol can inhibit weight loss.

Sounds like @GrungeGirl is trying something for a week, then trying something else, then trying something else.

Keto is not magic, it takes time. When you begin keep carbs under 20g net. Don’t worry about calories. Eat lots of fat so you feel full (this includes egg yolks, skin on chicken, 80/20 ground beef and ribeyes).

If exercise makes you feel good (it makes me feel good), keep doing it. But constantly switching what you’re doing isn’t giving your body enough time to adapt. So, keep it simple. Carbs under 20g net, eat lots of fat, and don’t worry about calories. Your body will adjust and you’ll eat less calories naturally.

Be the tortoise not the hare.

#15

You should not be suffering with keto. I wonder if you will find when you start tracking that you are not eating enough(?) sounds like you might need more fat to feel satisfied. As for the wine, I had to set hard limits initially to start losing. I could easily take down a half to one bottle of red a night before I went keto. So I usually abstain during weeknights and have one glass as a treat on fri/sat. Also my tolerance is now lower, so one glass (2 tops) does the trick or I feel like ass in the morning. Stick with it, you’ll figure out what works for you!

(Lonnie Hedley) #16

@GrungeGirl oh yeah, and cut out the wine. Alcohol will only add carbs and increase cravings. After you’ve adjusted you can go back to a glass now and then, but for now I’d give it a little break.

(Consensus is Politics) #17

Stress releases cortisol, cortisol releases glucose, glucose triggers insulin, insulin prevents fat burning. We then get stressed because we aren’t losing weight. It’s a cycle that can be difficult to beat. But with knowledge comes power.

#18

Stop thinking in terms of calories. Calories in/Calories out is not how our bodies work. As for the eggs, there are different ways to cook the eggs that you might get over the thing with the yokes. Eating egg whites is kind of pointless. I love to cook eggs in bone broth or Kerrygold butter. As for chicken, do you think you could swap out the white meat for thighs or drum sticks with the skin on? Maybe just personal preference but I think those are much tastier and will help your body get the fat it needs.
This may sound a little odd but I love to rub bacon grease onto my chicken before I put it in the oven, kids like it, too. Bacon makes everything better! :smile:
Hang in there!

(Heather Miller) #19

Wow! You are working too hard at this and not enjoying the journey.

How about this. Find some foods you love that are keto and eat those. Eat the whole eggs cooked in butter( stop worrying about the calories, don’t even give it a thought.) Eat chicken or pork or beef or fish, doesn’t matter…dont avoid the fat, just eat it and cook it in oil. Have your salad or a good above ground green veggie but maybe not both. Eat! Exercise if you like, or don’t, won’t really matter. And how about 1 glass of wine every other night…

Stop worrying and relax and I bet you will feel better. If you still don’t get results at least you won’t be so stressed! KCKO

#20

Sounds like you are not eating enough. Eat 20 grams of carbs or less, approx.1gram of protein per kg of lean body mass, and fat to satiety. What you describe is a head of iceberg lettuce (which has no nutritional value), egg whites (Eat the yolks!) The yolks contain nutrients that prevent problems from the anti nutrients in the white, some mayo ( if it’s made with crap oil it’s inflammatory which will prevent weight loss), and some chicken breasts, and wine. Where is the rest of your food? Your body is starved for nutrient n will not release weight until it gets the nutrients it needs and you remove the inflammatory foods, which may include your chicken breasts. Eat a burger, eat some liver, eat some ghee, eat some other veggies, for goodness sake eat the yolks!!! Make some hollandaise sauce and pour it over some asparagus and slather some mayo or butter over a burger.