Day 17, no weightloss since day 8!

(Kristen Ann) #1

Hi all,

I’m on my 17th day of doing keto and so far I’m loving it. Lots of positive changes. However, I’m pretty overweight and I’m surprised that I haven’t lost any weight since the first week. I’m 5’8" 190# and lost 6# in the first 7 days, and none since.

I track everything I eat and am eating between 1200-1700 calories a day (usually 1500). I’m also IF 5 days a week. One day a week I eat 2000 cal in attempt to boost my metabolism. I’ve been eating under 30 g total carbs a day and have been in ketosis every day since starting (using ketostix). I increased my activity this week and still no changes on the scale. The only thing I can think is maybe I’m retaining more water weight because I’ve adding quite a bit of sodium to my diet. Without it I was feeling very fatigued even after keto flu subsided.

Any recommendations or advice would be much appreciated. While I’m loving the keto diet for many reasons, I hope to lose weight as well. I’m a bit confused when I read about crazy weight loss and I stalled after 1 week!

(Robert C) #2

It is probably just a little early to be worrying about weight loss.
Initial loss was probably due to shock of dietary change (water weight mostly).

Before you are fat adapted (at about 6 weeks normally) your body will see those low calorie counts as a reason to slow metabolism. Same with IF - before being fat adapted it again appears to be body as calorie restriction. Your body is just not ready yet to easily access local fat stores - many reasons for this include stress, lack of sleep and a big dietary change.

Once you are fat adapted - IF and lower calorie days get made up for by burning body fat. It could take 4 more weeks of 2000+ calories days to get that going. You could also get that going faster by fasting for 48 hours 3 or 4 times in the next two weeks.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

Give it time. Weight loss is not linear for anyone, and women’s hormones are a complicating factor. It also happens that many women have been restricting calories for so long that, when they finally give their bodies an adequate supply of energy, they put on muscle, increase bone density, and so forth. This added weight can confuse the scale by making up for weight lost from fat. Since muscle and bone are much denser than fat, we generally advise women to keep track of their clothing size as a more reliable indicator of progress than what the scale is saying.

(Kristen Ann) #4

Thanks for reaching out RobC and PaulL. Much appreciated!

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #5

Don’t stress.
And don’t expect weight loss to happen over night.
You didn’t put it on overnight and it won’t come off that way either.

Stalling is considered no weight loss for 6 weeks. Not one.

Hang in there, it will get easier, there are many internal processes at play preparing your body to start using ketones as fuel, it can take upwards of 6-8 weeks with minimal metabolic damage.

(John) #6

Perfectly normal to stall out around that time. I lost weight in weeks 1 and 2, stalled in 3, gained in week 4, and then started losing again in week 5. Also stalled in week 8. Currently wrapping up week 10 with a modest (so far) loss, but I only count Monday morning weigh-ins, so I won’t know for sure until Monday.

There is even a name for it - Post Induction Stall Syndrome.

Those are usually from men, who have a lot more total weight than you in the first place, so their numbers look bigger. Plus for some unfair reason, men can lose weight easier than women.

I suggest you stick with it for 6 weeks. Some things just take time and you have to let your metabolism and body react to the changes.

(Cynthia Anderson) #7

I’ve been keto about 12 weeks. I lost weight the first week then nothing. Nothing for weeks then 2 weeks ago I weighed myself and I lost 5 more pounds.

Also if I missed it in someone else’s post I apologise.

Many times I’ve seen advice given to not fast untill you are fat adapted.