Also, you can’t really say that a keto diet will not cause certain people to lose weight without knowing what those people ate.
Consider diet 1: eats lots of store-bought salad dressings; fat bombs; bullet-proof coffee; dairy; fake sugars.
Diet 2: meat and vegetables.
Both are “keto”, but the outcomes will likely differ.
I’m loving this post thread, I’m the same age and have similar frustrations (but without the house full of children and the irksome shrinking-easily husband).
Do you ever get time to just chill out for five minutes? Because reading your posts it just reminds me of times when I literally can not switch off, cannot take a few deep breaths and just reset my brain.
It’s the old fight/flight theory (and no - I’m not suggesting you need to learn yoga - I can’t fit that in either)
The old Sabre-toothed tiger conondrum of our very modern lives - where we’re so busy rushing about that we’re always in fight mode. So everything is on hold while we zoom about, with increased cortisol levels etc. On the very odd occasion I do get to yoga, I start to giggle when about 5 minutes in everyone’s stomachs start to gurgle (the instructor is in her 80s, it’s hatha style - although she can do anything, but as she’s generally wearing a leotard and fishnets I’m always torn between awe and ‘awkward’).
There’s also a secondary liver pathway theory, which is that our livers do the essential urgent functions (which is also part of the stress conundrum above) and don’t have time to break down the ‘old/out of balance’ hormones - so they just get stored for later like a hoarder into fat cells.
The only link between our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is our diaphragms, which is why deep breathing is the simple solution (but I can’t picture you sitting in a ‘rebirthing’ room, under your pyramid, incense wafting around chanting positive mantras…) it’s just 2 minutes of focus on yourself, a few times a day.
Because you seem to be hot mess hormone-wise (but you have your shit together on every other level, big time - I’m in awe of your knowledge level) maybe this will resonate with you. I’m a fan of Libby Weaver for explanations of the hormone stuff (DrLibby.com) but prefer a clean eating keto plan (Libby is a nutritional biochemist - she does have books and supplements but I ignore them). Rushing Woman Syndrome is the book that might resonate with you - and no, I’m not thinking either of us is going to achieve Zen in our lifetimes - just giving yourself space to chill the fuck out for a few minutes a few times a day and breathe.
What can it hurt, it’s free (well, the breathing part anyway), and we can’t just cross our fingers and hope menopause is going to be brief…ooh, the breathing breaks are supposed to reduce the duration/intensify&occurrence of hot flushes…because your hormones haven’t exactly been friendly to you so far!
Anyhow, I’m doing the over the weekend fast - from Thursday dinner to Monday dinner. The first time my ketones were .4/.6 and it was 2.4 then higher, down 3kg at the end of fast period (had bone broth and coffee/tea with small amounts of cream). I’m trying to reduce my caffeine intake - but I fear for the safety of my colleagues and my patients/patience. But I figure that keep calm and keto on won’t happen until I can actually achieve calm…and I keep forgetting to fast for my blood tests because I NEED that first cup. Sigh.
Hi, I love your writing style…if it’s Keto you’re doing, aiming for, its gonna be good. I can only speak for me. I have ten years more experience…sunshine and f***ing rainbows…
I eat once a day, and that’s when I’m hungry. I don’t count anything, test anything. I only eat real food. Steak 
, fish 
, cheese, lamb chops, 
lambs liver, chicken 
… maybe too much cheese 
and I drink coffee, red wine sometimes. Ok so it’s a bit carnivore… for now… I don’t feel like anything else.
I am not losing weight, but not gaining. For me I only lose when I fast for three days through the week prior to steak night. I stopped the keto changing foods, almond meal, gluten free, fat head pizza… I just want to lose weight and learn what works… you eat more than I do… I also enjoy life, meditate and my only exercises are jumping to conclusions and running up bills…
Hi JackieBlue, you have said you haven’t lost any weight, but did you measure yourself when you started? Have you lost any inches??? The thing about weight loss is that 1lb of muscle is a lot smaller than 1lb of fat. So as you replace fat with muscle that scale may not budge, or it could even go up and down like a yoyo. It sounds like keto IS working for you as you said
Before and after photos are great too because if you don’t think you are doing anything and then you see a before and after, it gives you that “aha” moment!!! Please don’t give up on keto, you will get there!!!
Thanks for a very informative (and entertaining!) read. Great thread with some wonderful thoughts expressed. Here are mine:
Iodine/thyroid issues - a simple thing like doing plain old iodised table salt has helped me a lot.
Adding a tiny amount of salt to every cup of water I drink has also helped - anything up to a 1/4 tsp sometimes, depending on thirst/heat/sweating levels. I too used to get up multiple times a night to pee. Now it’s once a night.
It took my body almost a year to fat adapt properly and then it STILL wouldn’t budge the excess weight.
Sweeteners are not your friend. In any shape, form or description.
Carbs are not your friends, including fibre. Have you considered just eating beef for awhile? Reason being, you’re talking mega bang for your buck with beef in terms of nutrients and building blocks for your body. Technically, there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, only amino acids and fatty acids.
Pretty much just eating ribeye might be the way for you to go… that way you are getting the protein you clearly need - all that baby bearing and feeding has taken a toll on your beautiful body.
Definitely be doing different things every day so your body doesn’t get a chance to predict what’s coming.
When fasting, put nothing but water into your body. Seriously. Anything else will trigger an insulinemic response. Even broth. And lemon is not a good idea either because carbs/sugar. All forms of sweetness are a bad idea because of this. (I well and truly fucked my body up by being strict keto for 3 years AND using stevia.)
Also that MTHFR business is definitely something to look into. Could be causing a host of issues for you. Eating fresh cooked beef (nothing from the deli), could really help you a lot. (Says the woman who was once a vegan!! Talk about dead fairies!) 
Another reason for the beef suggestion: plants, as you know, contain lots of anti nutrients, might more bother than they are worth to eat them for the good stuff they do contain. There is nothing that can’t be gotten out of animals, that can only be found in plants.
And yes, your body is healing and that takes time. Men are lucky bastards and they just don’t seem to have the hormone issues that we have to contend with!
I’m in a rush, so pardon the scattered-ness of my response. (Also, do you get migraines at all?)
Hope something here helps you. What a precious gem you are JackieBlue!
Attia was taking about a gene mutation that makes saturated fat difficult and dangerous for the carriers of that genotype. In the podcast he puts them on mufas instead of sfas and they start responding. I am one of those people who can do keto with olive oil, avocado oil, fish, etc and feel sick and unwell when taking in coconut oil, heavy cream, fatty meats, bacon, cheese, etc.
It is the podcast with Rhonda Fitzpatrick.
Try electrolytes. I’ve had episodes where I gained when I knew there was no way I should and drinking Powerade Zero started the loss again.
Your observations had me snickering, then laughing out loud! Me too! Have done everything correctly and just bounce around the same 3 pounds since June (5 months now) and it’s so annoying. Love your style! I haven’t given up, but I find it impossible to maintain my intensity anymore. I’ll let you know if anything changes next year…
I am sorry for your frustrations. But I would suggest your problems with your periods are not related to keto. When I was your age (almost 30 years ago), I had exactly those problems and I was eating healthy foods but a standard diet. My doc said it was “normal” pre menpause. It was horrible, but eventually went away. If your body is going through these hirmonal changes, it is probably affecting weight loss. But should stabilize before long. Good luck.
I admit I skimmed through replies, so this may have been mentioned before, but Karen Mangiacotti (sorry if I mangled the spelling here) didn’t have any kind of love from the scales for a hella long while before things started shifting for her. If you’re generally feeling better then maybe your body is doing its thing to heal itself before losing the pounds.
Sorry - I don’t have any kinda practical advice or anything, but just wanted to throw some support and encouragement your way. 
Hi,
I’ve read through most of the replies here, and I see that you have started fasting and you are seeing weight loss finally - which is fab! Just to add my voice - I originally lost 100lbs with lchf and kept it off for several years but that was before kids, and then after pregnancy I couldn’t lose weight anymore with lchf and I carried on trying to work out what was going on for eight YEARS still eating lchf and actually gaining weight whenever i slipped the tiniest bit. In the end, what helped me - what saved me! - was Dr Fung’s The Obesity Code - not only the fasting (I do alternate day fasting) but the incredibly important insight that seems to be ignored by many in the keto community that artificial sweetener may not raise glucose but it DOES raise insulin! Once I stopped using sweetener and started alternate day fasting, I finally lost weight. Still slow, because I lose weight at a glacial speed but this was after 8 years of lchf with no weight loss. It took over a year but I lost 55lbs and I’m now only about 15lbs from my goal (been stalled for months, but that’s my story, not yours.)
I mention this because I’ve seen you mention things that you’ve eaten that seem like they are probably made with sweetener (pumpkin pie etc). And that could be what is sabotaging you. Looking forward to hearing how the ADF keeps going - hope it’ll get you where you need to be.
Deborah
Jackie Blue,
I could have written, word for word, exactly what you wrote! Except, you have a WAY better style of saying everything! I’ve been doing Keto since August 13th and haven’t lost but a couple of pounds. Like you, I go back and forth with the same 2-3 pounds. I haven’t cheated, I fast, I tried the egg fast, I’ve counted macros, weigh everything, etc. etc etc and still…here I am, going on 4 months of STRICT Keto and…nothing. Like you, I figured at least my measurements would change, clothes fitting looser but…no. I’m truly at a loss as to what else to do. In fact, I’m starting to get really depressed about the whole thing. Why isn’t my body reacting to this woe like so many people? To me…it seems like…more fasting is suggested, so basically…just don’t eat?
Anyway, I appreciated the way you wrote exactly what I’d like to say!
Hi, I love all the advice on this post and I suspect you are much more knowledgeable about this than I am. I am mostly intrigued by AmandaJ because I believe like her that getting up to pee in the night so many times hampers weight loss.
I know something about this. I used to not sleep through the night and the oddest thing changed it for me. I started taking a liver cleanse supplement (TMG) and within a couple of days my sleep was much better. I also experimented with Tryptophan which also helped.
I wish you the best and love to read your posts!
This was a wonderful, entertaining post. I am also 47 and don’t respond to keto anymore either. I can’t get any ketones to show up and I just eat low-carb now to feel good. One thing I did notice is that my thyroid levels dropped on keto and I had to increase my medication when doing this WOE.
Your post is my personal story as well. I have 20 lbs to lose, now size 10/12, would like to go back to my baseline 8. I actually gained 8 lbs with ketogenic diet. I changed my lifestyle to keto way over one year ago. I get great benefits in other aspects of my health, but not weight loss. I am in ketosis, confirmed with blood test ( most of the time my ketones are 1+). I tried
Right now I am experimenting with fasting. IDM recommends 36 hrs fast 3 times a week. First I thought it is absolutely crazy. But I started and it is going … well. It is too early to judge, and I will be able to give you updates in 1-2 months. It is definitively easier than I expected. I feel great and I am very encouraged by the results so far. IDM has a great FB group, so I am not alone. This week there is 500+ of us fasting this way! At idmprogram.com you can sign up for a free introductory program, what helps to get you going.
Good luck in your journey, let me know if you find something what works.
Yes, but if you are trying to lose weight some, or much, of that 80%needs to be your fat - the stuff you stored years ago. Initially we are told to eat a lot of fat in order to get fat adapted. Once your body is good at burning fat, you need to reduce your fat, keep caloric input under what you need, then your body will burn your fat. I have lost 30lbs starting in August. I initially ate a lot of fat, but I don’t now and I only eat one major meal a day. For example, I’ll make a homemade stir fry, over riced cauliflower of course. Then I’ll eat a much smaller portion of the left overs for lunch the next day. My ketones are about where yours are ~ 1.0, but after my last two day fast, I was at 2.9. I get into the 2’s after a long bike ride as well. So when I stall, I do one or more of these things: fast, exercise, remove vodka/wine.
One more way of thinking about this: if you keep your fat ratio at 80% and you are not losing weight then you have to reduce everything you eat including protein and vegetables. You don’t want to do that. You need a minimum amount of protein to provide needed amino acids, otherwise your body will go after its own muscle and I don’t think there is any issue keeping leafy greens and vegetables at normal /maintenance level. So to lose weight, you reduce the fat portion.