Can we get people to stop freaking out about not losing weight fast enough?

(Bob M) #1

As of January 1, 2019, I’ll be low carb/keto for 5 years. I lost about 30 pounds (US) in about 1.5 years (not sure how heavy I actually got), then added in long-term and intermittent fasting, and lost maybe another 25 at my lowest. Note that is likely while fasting long(er)-term, so it’s not “real”, as I gain gain or lose 4-7 pounds in a single DAY while fasting or eating after fasting. There were multiple times when the scale showed no loss but I would lose a belt loop.

I had shoulder surgery, which set me back. (Think having to sleep sitting up, rotating between three different sleeping locations when the pain became too much, not lifting anything for 2 months, not lifting more than 10 pounds until after 6 months, etc.) When I finally was able to sleep OK and exercise again (I like to lift weights), my weight started ballooning upward even with keto and IF. So,I got some DEXA scans:

(Not from these people, as they are not in my location.)

Here are my results:

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I gained 3.3 pounds of muscle and lost 5.4 pounds of fat (over 50 year old male), in an ENTIRE YEAR. That’s a grand total of 2.1 pounds of scale weight, which if you take your weight daily is noise. That is, I can gain and lose more than that in a day.

And that includes a lot of intermittent fasting and some longer term fasts and keto 99% of the time.

So, if you’re a person who is freaking out because the scale shows no weight loss over X amount of time, consider this.

(Wendy) #2

I think it’s normal for people who see great results from someone they see doing keto, to want to see big changes when they try it for themselves. I know that was part of my motivation to drop my low carbs lower.
But I totally agree with you that we need to see the whole picture and remember that muscle weighs differently than fat, and that muscle gain is good! I have people ask me all the time how much have you lost. But the real question is how much have I gained, in good health, from doing keto. I hope to gain more muscle as I continue this WOE and that may mean my scale numbers don’t continue to go down. But that is fine. Even if I can’t afford a DEXA I can still see the difference in body composition.
I hope newbies and all of us can appreciate the difference.

#3

I hear you! And thank you for the reminder. Its still hard at times - so many years of staring at the scale as the ‘success’ indicator - its hard to shake. I have been hanging in at basically the same weight going onto 5 months or so now. Occassionaly I think I’ve broken through a stall, but then back to the new baseline. I don’t have the concrete and sophisticated data such as yours (just scale and tape measure) but I know my body shape has continued to change to a leaner composition. And more importantly, which is often overlooked - what hasn’t happened - is any weight gain! I cannot recall a time in my 50+ years of ‘dieting’ that I was able to maintain for more than a week (or day) without having to go to extremes (severe calorie retriction) and then eventually give up because it was too demoralizing to fight it anymore.
So this WOE is still the best for me - and I’m at a good place for health/happiness/energy - so if all I suffer is wishing on some vanity pounds to go very, very slowly - so be it.

(Michelle) #4

I think the people who lose an insane amount of weight right away are those with the most inflammation. If you don’t have a lot of inflammation, or if you have already lost that big chunk of inflammation, then you only have fat to lose, and that comes off slowly.

(Frank) #5

Great. I was inflamed. Thanks. :wink:

(Michelle) #6

Nope. You’re a :unicorn: . I forgot to add that as a possibility!

(Bill Pletke) #7

I agree with the above posters. We often see posts and pictures from folks who had extraordinary results. The examples seem to set false expectations for many that they will see continued dramatic weight loss. The reality is that for most it will be slow and steady with the occasional stall. Once I was fully adapted it became what is probably a normal loss. Maybe a pound or two a week. This is where one needs to be disciplined and stick to <20 g of carbs. Don’t become become frustrated. It’s a slow path to wellness. Being overweight didn’t happen overnight and you won’t lose the weight overnight. Be strong KCKO

#8

I’m in agreement with the above as well. But also, people forget there are many different factors between folks, that will also make a difference on how they lose. Their activity level, metabolism, how much they have to lose, etc. But I also think that those who watch the scales the most, seem to get themselves agitated more on the lower amount they see. … If someone weighs daily, they might see the up and downs more, but if they do once a week, they will see better numbers. And even better still if only checking monthly. - I wish they would just enjoy this WOE, and how they feel over anything else. And in time they will see that the numbers are just that, numbers. And should base their success on how they feel overall and enjoy it.

I actually weigh once a week just to track and record the data, but I could actually care less when it comes down to it. I weigh in every Sunday morning, so I will weigh in tomorrow which will be 16 weeks (4 months) for me. But as of last week, I was down -56 lbs. and already wearing pants 4+ inches less then when I started.

(Brian) #9

My thoughts exactly! LOL!!

I lost a lot in just the first few months. I knew I was coming from not such a good place, though, my health was going downhill fast. Maybe if I had been coming from a much healthier place, my initial weight loss wouldn’t have been as dramatic either. I still have about 20 pounds to go and it really is going quite slowly. But I know it’s still headed in the right direction. The scale bounces around and I do weigh myself every day. But what I am currently noticing is that the “skinny jeans” that I bought a month ago seem like they’re getting looser. Good problem to have! :slight_smile: Maybe someday I’ll spring for a DEXA scan or something similar. I should have done that in the beginning so I’d have a point of reference but I didn’t.

As for the opening post, very interesting, and thanks very much, Bob, for sharing this with us!!

(Bob M) #10

I always hypothesized the difference was in the amount of metabolic derangement: those who have less metabolic derangement lose weight faster, and those who have more metabolic derangement lose weight slower. However, I have no idea whether this is true.

I have an office mate who has lost more weight than I have by going to a lower carb (not keto) plan, and did it in 1/5th of the time. Meanwhile, I’ve done well over a handful of 4.5-5.5 day fasts, more 3-3.5 day fasts than I can remember, and basically do intermittent fasting all the time. I’ve gone through periods where I’ve done 2-36hour fasts and 1-24 hour fast per week, many weeks of those. And still my weight barely budges. And I went on vacation and gained about pounds, as I did have some ice cream and pizza, but I was actually quite good otherwise. It’s taken me over a month to lose that weight, and that’s with multiple longer fasts (3+days) and many 22-36 hour fasts.

Bit, I can only control me. I can’t control that someone else loses faster than I do. They aren’t me. I do the best I can, and I keep plugging away.

I do think we as a community can do a disservice to ourselves when we advertise that someone (typically male) lost 80+ pounds (or 100+ or whatever) in 6 months (or 12 months, or some other ridiculously short time). While that’s great, 99+ % of people will not experience that.

(Bob M) #11

A note about DEXA scans. They are everywhere if you want a bone density test. You need special software to do body fat/muscle analysis, and those are quite challenging to find. I had to drive over an hour to get to one, but if I wanted a bone density scan, I could walk to one. They are expensive. I paid $500 for three scans. You might find them cheaper, but there’s not a lot of competition, and they have to buy the scanner and the software, which I’m sure aren’t cheap.

For me, I did this because I saw the scale weight literally skyrocketing after my recovery from shoulder surgery, and I couldn’t understand why. I’d post a graph of this weight increase, but I have that info in another location, and I won’t be there until Monday.

(Bob M) #12

Shoot, that should say I gained about SEVEN pounds on vacation.

(Kerin ) #13

Nice.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #14

Viewed a different way, that’s an 8.8 lbs body recomp after already being keto for years. That’s impressive as all get out, even if it’s only 3 lbs on the scale.

(Running from stupidity) #15

No, because they see the front page of r/keto and it’s mostly “I lost 75 percent of my bodyweight in two weeks!” posts and so they think that’s what happens. (I ended up writing a blog post about it because I’m a journalist and we write things.)

(Bob M) #16

Normally, I would agree with you. Unless you’re genetically gifted, 4 pounds of muscle mass in a year is a lot. However, shoulder surgery basically takes you to near zero musle mass. I’ve also been lifting weights since I was 16, so I have a muscle memory - my muscles remember being much bigger, so maybe that helped.

(Chris) #17

It’s never going to stop. Everyone expects a quick fix.

(Eric) #18

So I started dieting January of 2017, with just intermittent fasting I ended up eating OMAD and went from 330 to 230 by November. Now due to the holidays and getting off track by January I was back at 250. That’s when I went keto, by February I was down to 220. In one month of keto I lost the 20 lbs I put on and an additional 10. Since February I lost absolutely nothing bounced around between 220 and 223 measurements never changed. I felt great though I loved the food I was eating and most importantly I was not scared of putting the weight back on which I’ve always done. So I just kept eating keto and not worrying about the weight. Then all of a sudden I’ve dropped 5 lbs and 2.5 inches in my waist in the last 9 days. Keep calm and keto on people

(Kirk) #19

Tell them they’re not getting enough helium in their diet.

#20

I agree with this so much (every word)!

Honestly, the success stories I appreciate the most are the ones that emphasis the NSV, and focus on their improved health.

Any diet can promise you “11 pounds in 11 days”, but I care about how long you’re going to live and how rewarding that life is going to be.