Day 20 NO CHEATING, Lost 12 lbs but weight loss has stalled past 3 days

#1

I started the Keto diet on January 7, 2019. I average about 1516 calories a day. I try to keep my carbs no more than 20-25 gm per day. I have lost 12 lbs but nothing in the past 3 days. I am still in Ketosis according to my urine sticks range from 1.5 to 8.0 on some days. After the first 3 days following the Keto diet, I wasn’t hungry and had to force myself to eat some days. The past few days, I have had cravings for NON keto foods but have stayed committed. Nonetheless, I am feeling discouraged. I also weigh myself every morning…I cannot not weigh each morning. Any advice??

(Laurie) #2

Hi, Daisy. Staying at the same weight for 3 days is nothing to worry about!

I no longer use the urine sticks, but when I did, most days I was at 4.0, and some days I was as high as 8. Meanwhile, my weight has gone up and down and up and down and stayed the same for long periods. I try not to get discouraged though, because averaged out over the long term I am still losing.

Some people say not to weigh every day, but like you, I like to weigh every day. I think it keeps me focused. When I use to weigh once a month it was too easy to deny that I was actually gaining: “Up 6 lb this month, must be the extra coffee I drank last night,” and so on for two or three months, and suddenly I was up 20 pounds.

Congratulations on losing 12 lb in 20 days. That is awesome!

#3

If you must weigh each morning know that weight loss is not linear. It goes up, it goes down and sometimes it stays the same. My advice is to not weigh everyday if you are going to stress about the daily changes.

(Carl Keller) #4

Hi Daisy.

7 pounds in 20 days is nothing to be discouraged about. Not every day is going to be positive progress on the scale. It takes time, patience and dedication to this way of eating to see long term results.

You average a daily weight loss of .35 pounds per day. If you look at this the other way around and if you were to gain that much per day, it would be 127.5 pounds gained in one year. That’s not very realistic.

Keto is about healing our bodies and changing the behavior of our hormones. Weight loss is a very positive side effect. So give your hormones some time to sort themselves and relax. Stressing out is not going to help. :slight_smile:

(Running from stupidity) #5

Also, the usual definition of “a stall” is not changing weight for eight weeks.

#6

That initial weight loss was just water weight. It may seem like you’re stalled, but now you’re just entering the “fat burning phase”, so naturally it seems like you are plateauing. Keep the carbs down and you’ll start seeing results. I also recommend that you implement intermittent fasting a day or two a week and you’ll see amazing results.

(Running from stupidity) #7

Which is much easier once you’ve become fat-adapted. No point rushing into it, ESPECIALLY not when having cravings. Just eat plenty of protein and fat until then.

#8

I lost 10 lbs in my first week on keto, then nothing for three weeks. But then, just under 30 days in, I started losing again, and I rapidly lost 20 more lbs.

You’ve probably lost mostly water at this point – which is a good thing, btw. But after that initial loss, you might go weeks or a whole month without losing anything. Your body isn’t used to burning fat. Spend a month in strict keto to get used to burning fat for energy, and you won’t be disappointed in the results you get, whether it’s about weight, waist, or energy.

#9

Thanks to all of you for your responses!! I am 5’ 6 1/2" tall. My starting weight was at 222 lbs. I am now at 210 lbs. My goal is to weigh 180 by May 2019. I’ve read and seen so many sucessful Keto-stories and felt this was the way to go. I don’t like to take diet pills because they make me feel jittery and weird. I am bound and determined to stick it (KETO) out for the long haul and perhaps longer. I gained 30 pounds in just 3 years after my husband’s untimely death. In addition, I’ve become reclusive with the exception of going to work . I despise how I look in clothes anymore and don’t enjoy going places like I used to. I realize I have been self body-shaming myself. I found this site so that I could chat and learn from others who have understandinng and insight as to what I’m dealing with. Thanks so much again for your comments and tips!!

(Sheri Knauer) #10

Im so sorry about your husband. What a difficult thing to have to go through. Just stick with keto, stay the course, your body is going through some changes to enable you to use your stored body fat as fuel. There are a lot of mitochondrial changes that need to take place to be able to use that fat so patience and dedication to eating keto is of the essence. Once you become fat adapted, which generally takes 6-8 weeks on average, a lot of people start incorporating intermittent fasting, which helps in the weight loss. I wouldn’t suggest starting fasting of any kind until you are fat adapted as it can be too much, too soon for your body while it is going through the transition to become a fat burner.
Another thing too, especially for us women, there is a lot of hormonal regulation that occurs as well so that definitely affects how quickly, or not so quickly, a person loses weight. Think of this as the way you will be eating from now on because if you go back to eating the bad carbs, then any issues you had/have will come right back. Plus you will feel so good and have so much energy, you won’t want to start eating carbs again.
As for the scale…it can be a liar. You can lose body fat while gaining lean muscle meaning no change on the scale, maybe even going up, but you are losing inches, looking leaner. Either take measurements or go by how your clothes are feeling. Don’t base your results by what the scale tells you. If you put on a pair of pants that used to be tight or not fit at all and then they suddenly fit or are loose, then you get on the scale and it tells you there has been no weight lost, then you can see how that can be a poor indication. Focus on fat loss not weight loss (does that make sense?).
It seems like you are doing fine so far. Stay the course, and keep calm and keto on (KCKO)

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #11

I’ve been where you are. I used to dread going to the grocery store or to family gatherings. I’d change my clothes over and over to leave the house. I talked down to myself which only made things worse. Gaining weight quickly can do that to us.

I started listening to audio books (free from my library app) and using earbuds as my protection when I went out. I avoided eye contact and stayed in my audio world during shopping. Nobody tries to talk to you if they see wires hanging from your ears. Sometimes, later, I wouldn’t even have anything playing so I could pay attention to my surroundings, but still keep people at bay. It helped me take that first step to getting out more and now I keep one bud in, one open to the world. I look at faces and smile. It’s nice but took about a year to get there.

I remind myself everyone thinks their world is the most important and most folks are too wrapped up in themselves to care about or judge me. I remind myself that the lady or guy next to me might be struggling even more than I am.

As for self shaming. I made a concerted effort to relearn now to talk to myself. If I told myself I was fat, I’d stop and say something like “but you’re working on it and it’s not what defines you”. You’re way more than your appearance and people who love you do so because you’re YOU not because of your packaging. Peace.

(Running from stupidity) #12

I’ve done this for decades, and highly recommend it. The bigger the headphones, the better. (I’m currently using bright green ones, hard to miss, for this exact reason.)

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(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #13

Welcome! You sound like you are doing fine. I started January 3. I lost water weight my first week (8 pounds) then nothing for almost 2 weeks, then gained a pound, then lost 3.

I track my weight daily in my log, easier to see progress that way. The thing I noticed most was my clothes fit better, so I was losing inches. Using a tape measure is a good tool for success.

Keto is a long term process of changes, many that you cannot see but all very good. Just keep to your goal, you can succeed :smiley: