I’m just past my 2nd week and I weighed myself this morning. I have been tracking non-stop and I lost 7lbs the first week and a few days. I just weighed myself this morning and I am up almost a pound. I’m drinking a ton of water, keeping my carbs around or below 20g net. Averaging anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 calories a day. May not be enough based on my composition, but I am not hungry. I work out 4x a week, always have. Two days spinning, two days circuit/strength training. I am having difficulty eating enough protein because I am full and my fat is not at the levels recommended for my weight, but from what I read everyone says it’s ok not to consume all the fat. I have even started to incorporate some IF (15/9, 16/8). I’m 5’6 female in her 40’s, looking to lose about 30lbs to start. Feeling a bit demotivated this morning and questioning my decisions. When I was low carb, high protein and working out 5 times a week I was losing on average 2lbs a week. Looking for some support to keep keto on…
Demotivated
You could be up almost a lb if you drink a tumbler of water or need to have a bm. If you let the scale dictate how you gauge progress/success, especially if you’re looking at it every single day, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
In two weeks you’ve changed what you eat and when you eat. You have to give your body time to adjust. This isn’t a crash diet to lose 30 lbs and move on with your life, it’s a way of eating that helps your body work differently. It takes time to turn on and get adapted, longer than your second week.
Check out the newbie category and you’ll see many, many folks asking the same thing at almost the exact point where you now are. I’ll summarize: be patient and manage your expectations. Don’t compare yourself to others. Keep calm and keto on.
In just two weeks you are not even close to making changes at the cellular level. Keep carbs low and over the next several weeks your body will start to get the hang of this. Right now you throwing low carb, increased exercise and IF at your body all at once and your body is saying WTF do you want?
Think of it more of a lifestyle change. It is not a diet, it is a way if living. Also remember you didnt gain it all over night and you wont lose it overnight. I am in the same 40s boat as you, and it peels off painfully slow but it does peel off. I have been doing keto way of life 8 weeks, lost 14 pounds but even better, I have lost 17 inches so far! Be sure to measure yourself. I am down 2 pant sizes already. Everyone is different and expecting to continue to lose 5 to 7 pounds a week you will be disappointed. You are doing great. Keep up the good work!
I’m similar to @MommyJill2005. I don’t weigh on a scale but I’ve done this 4 weeks and the first two saw no change and these last two I’ve lost 2 inches off my waist and 2 off my hips so like 4 inches total? I’m only measuring waist and hips though because I’m lazy lol. I also fully expect it to slow down as I go on. I’m a bit of a heretic on here because I’m a vegetarian so my macros are not quite in line with the consensus as I often eat up to 40-45 carbs but usually 20-30 grams of fiber are in that total. So basically, each person is unique. Some need more fat, some protein, others can handle an extra carb or two.
Also, I’m eating probably 1600-1800 calories a day. I will probably tighten that up as I slow down. I only walk my dogs for exercise and I have a job that is moderately active (dog groomer). Sometimes I think we go to low calorie at first because we are still locked in the calories in/calories out mindset. When really all we are doing is lowering our metabolic set point. I figure, get fat adapted and then lower calories some to allow for more body fat burning.
Hi Jowest,
I experienced this exact same thing. I’ve been doing keto since January 1 and hit a big time pause if you will the second and third week. I just talk to it because I had heard that it sometimes takes 6 to 8 weeks to become fat adapted. Now into the third week of February, I’ve started to drop 1 to 5 pounds per week which I can live with. Like you, I don’t feel hungry, I skip breakfast, & I get really excited about the foods I can eat!
Have you been checking your blood glucose levels as well as blood Ketones? ( I actually haven’t found that much of a benefit of testing the blood ketones, I find it really interesting to see how blood glucose is affected after meals.) You mentioned keeping your net carbs below 20. I’ve seen some suggestions that you should count carbs even before fiber content. Maybe experiment by keeping them under a gross 15?
Another suggestion would be to not weigh yourself daily, but to get a set of calipers or just use a simple cloth tape to measure yourself once a week. That is the other thing that I have come to find, is that I’ve gotten to a place where I can be up 3 pounds from the day previous having eaten perfectly And being confident that my weight will go down the next day or so. I track it on the calendar so I can see what I was versus the previous week. I also got the RENPHO blue tooth body fat scale to assist as well. ($26+/- Amazon) Plots weigh ins on a graph. Monthly for me looks like the old price is right yodeling mountain climber game, only reverse!
Finally, I hope you are tracking every macro. I personally use the app ”lose it”.
Good luck! Keep at it.
Rob
Anyone have any thoughts on the following ;
I’ve been doing keto for a month and a half. For the past two days my fasting blood glucose upon waking was 99. I made the following coffee: half a scoop of collagen, 3/4 of a teaspoon of stevia, teaspoon of inulin, 1 tsp of coffee mate powder, 1 tablespoon spoon of MCT oil, blended to get a froth. Half hour after consuming my blood glucose dropped to 69 after 1 hr, went back up to 82. I thought it was supposed to go the other way?? Believe me I was pleasantly surprised because it is delicious !
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Rob
Thanks! I need to measure myself. I have not yet, just the scale. I’m not expecting major weight loss each week, just wanted to consistently lose up to 2lbs a week if I could, minus the obvious plateaus here and there. Trying to only weigh myself once a week.
I’m not checking my glucose blood levels, only the urine strips. I’m drinking up to 125 oz of water a day so while it is showing pink, it’s definitely diluted, even in the morning when I first wake up.
I always worked out up to 4-5 times a week so I don’t want to stop and continue to do it. My strength has definitely decreased a bit. I used to eat 1,200 calories when I was trying to lose weight so this is definitely mentally hard for me. It takes some serious planning for me to hit 1,500 everyday and I find I’m sometimes forcing myself to eat and get in enough calories. I’m definitely planning on sticking with it for the next month, at least, to see how it unfolds.
- The less weight you have to lose the slower you will be to lose it.
- 2 weeks in is nothing. Don’t expect changes until your fat adapted which can take 2 months or more.
- Stress will keep you from losing weight via cortisol. The more you stress about your progress the harder it will be to lose weight.
- Keto works from the inside out and that takes time. You have to let the process work.
- K.I.S.S. - Stay under 20g carbs and forget about any expectations you had about keto. It’s not a magic wand. It starts at the cellular level and that takes time.
- Search the forums and read up on previous threads. 90% of the time you’ll find your answers there.
- There are plenty of scale ups and downs. I personally can vary +/- 3lbs on any given day so don’t expect to only see loss.
and finally maybe the most important…
8) If youre looking for fast results, keto is not it. There are people who it works fast for yes, but it’s not common. So don’t expect keto to be a hot knife through butter.
You have to be patient and have a positive attitude about it or you will get stressed and slow progress. Time is what it takes.
A month isn’t enough time to get adapted. It takes an average of two months, sometimes more. So you’re already setting yourself up for failure.
You don’t have to force yourself to eat. The idea is to learn to listen to your body and eat enough to satisfy yourself when you’re hungry, don’t eat unless you’re hungry and minimize or eliminate snacking. For example, I eat three meals a day still but I no longer snack and when I started those would be larger meals, I went through a hungry phase (after my no appetite phase in the first couple of weeks) but now I only eat a lot when my belly says it’s still hungry. Sometimes I leave a lot on the plate, other times it’s scraped clean and I have a bit of chocolate afterward because I’m not done eating yet.
In the first few weeks many folks lose their appetite and you read people telling you to make sure you eat your calories or you’ll slow your metabolism. It’s normal to go through a not hungry phase, just eat when you want to and stay hydrated and mind your electrolytes. You’ll get your appetite back.
The goal is to learn to listen to hunger signals again. High carb diets make this very hard and for me, I was always hungry. Now I’m hungry when my body needs food and not in between meals, which is one of the best gifts a ketogenic diet can give.
Hope this helps and decreases your struggle.
Thank you! I’m definitely only eating when I’m hungry, but sometimes that could be two meals that don’t even hit 1,200 calories combined. I don’t want to get into to much a deficit so I am trying to add more fat to those meals - cheese, avocado, avocado oil, 1 tbsp of heavy cream in my scrambled eggs, or coffee, etc.
When I started the other week and consumed all this information I made fat bombs (they are sitting in my freezer, mostly untouched). I have also made avocado brownies and low carb, sugar free chocolate chip cookies. I made these so I wouldn’t feel denied if I wanted them, but more so to look for ways to get calories and fat in. They are also sitting in my freezer. Thoughts on eating those to add calories/fat back?
That first week or so I was only eating 700-800 calories, once I finally added everything up, after I was thinking “I don’t feel like I’m eating enough at all”. Fat bombs, for me, were a way to increase my appetite for “better” foods. For instance, if I just couldn’t eat but I could stomach a fat bomb, then my appetite would come back a bit for the next meal and I could eat my meat and veg. Drinking chicken broth did the same thing, helped increase my appetite or decrease that nauseous feeling when I thought about eating.
Now I don’t do fat bombs but I do still like something sweet so I stick with 100% cocoa bars with a bit of Splenda, cinnamon and salt, but not every day (but a lot of the days-- 
)
I only still concentrate on staying under 20 g carbs a day (net) and now that my appetite is normalized, there’s a lot less scrutinizing involved. This is temporary, soon it will be in the rear view and you’ll be moving along.
Rob
That looks to me like an insulin response from something in your coffee. Maybe the stevia? The insulin would drive your blood glucose lower, then it would rebound as yours has done. Some sweeteners can cause an insulin response in some people. If this happens consistently for you, I would avoid.
One more question. I wanted to put in my typical day of eating to get a sense of if it is on target or if there is anything I should eliminate or replace. I’m a creature of habit when it comes to eating. I typically get comfortable with a few meals and stick to them. Would love feedback. Thanks!
Breakfast: typically 2-3 eggs mixed with either half and half or 1 tbsp of heavy cream, or sometimes just fried, sometimes 2 slices bacon (trying not to make a habit of it). Shredded cheddar cheese 1/4-1/2 cup. Some avocado oil in the pan for eggs. 1/2 an avocado. Cup of coffee with 1-2 tbsp half and half
Lunch: salad lettuce 2 cups with cucumber, handful of cherry tomatoes, full fat dressing (might have some sugar in there but I am counting total net carbs). 1/4 almonds, 3-4 ounces roasted turkey deli meat. Sometimes a few baby carrots, depending on my carb count, 1/2 avocado.
Dinner: typically some protein (chicken, turkey, fish, beef) with some low carb vegetables made with olive oil.
Snacks: sometimes for additional calories or as a meal replacement or to get more protein and fat in 2 ounces hard Soppressata salami, 1 full fat mozzarella string cheese, maybe some olives.
Rarely, but some times one of my avocado brownies or my low carb, sugar free homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Beverages: only water, aside from coffee
This is a copy and paste from a part of a reply I made a few days ago… I hope this helps give you some ideas on boosting your diet.
“This is an example of an average day:
Breakfast: (4g C, 28.5g P, 54.6g F, 653 Cal)
- Homemade Scramble Bowl
•2 eggs scrambled
•1 oz ground sausage and/or bacon crumbles
•1 tbsp guacamole or 1/2 avocado (diced)
•1/2 oz shredded mexican cheese
•dash of tobasco - BPC
•12oz Coffee prepared from grounds
•2 tbsp HWC or full fat unsweetened coconut milk
•1 tbsp coconut oil
•1 tsp ground cinnamon
•2 scoops marine collagen powder
•1 tbsp kerrygold butter
•1 squirt liquid stevia
Lunch: None, I IF 8/16
Snacks: None
Dinner: (approx 4.6g C, 36.5g P, 37.4g F, 528 Cal)
- Salad
•1oz Spring Mix Salad
•3oz grilled steak or grilled chicken strips
•1oz Gorgonzola Crumbles or Goat Cheese
•2 tbsp Vinaigrette dressing
•1/2 avocado diced - 1 cup steamed broccoli or a deviled egg
At this point I’m full, but if I’m not I’ll treat myself to a keto dessert I made like a Pecan Truffle and/or a Pumpkin Cheesecake Bite (approx 2.6g C, 1.9g P, 15.5g F, 162 Cal). I personally try to stay away from most nuts (not many I like), fruit, milk, sugar, starches, and all processed foods.
I average roughly 1300-1400 cals, 15g carbs, and around 100ozs of water on a good day. I unintentionally end up with a calorie deficit because I’m full and I don’t eat when I’m not hungry. Two meals and no snacks keep me full for a long time. I’m also not super active so I don’t need a high calorie intake.”
I think it all looks just fine, especially if you’re satisfied but not forcing yourself. I personally never loved carrots and since they’re on the starchy side I don’t eat them, but if you’re minding your carb counts and they fit in, and you’re getting the results you want, go ahead. If you are planning on making changes, stick to the lower carb veggies or don’t go bonkers eating too much.
I used to make these mixing bowl size salads in the beginning (coming from vegetarian, it felt normal) with lots of veg and very little meat and found I was blowing over my carb count for the day, by a lot.
I still eat veggies every single day because I personally love the taste and texture but right now my faves are broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and sometimes cauliflower. I just tried fried bok choy and like it a lot. All next to a nice piece of meat.
Thank you! I am averaging anywhere between 1,300-1,500 calories a day. Thoughts on deli meat? I usually buy Trader Joe’s stuff or I get their grilled chicken strips. Maybe I should kill the deli meat b/c it is processed?
I’m really wondering if you’re getting enough fat. I did Adkins years ago and never got into ketosis. Now my macros are a minimum of 65-85% fat, 5% carbs, and the rest protein and I stay in ketosis. I’ve found a spinach salad is my go to big meal. About 4oz of spinach, tbsp of pumpkin seeds, chopped macadamia nuts, tbsp olive oil, my homemade ranch dressing (nothing light about it!) and 4-6 oz of protein du jour. this keeps me satiated for hours.
NOT a big fan of processed lunch meat, unless out and in a bind. Never know what fillers might be in there.
Thanks for this reply Alecmcq. Tracked again this a.m. and blood glucose went up 3 points. Is that how I look at this-it’s a spike in insulin causing my glucose to drop after the coffee? It is better if I see no (or little, like today) change in blood glucose 30, 60, 90 minutes post prandial?