Frustrated on keto! Pls help

(Summer) #1

I have been on keto for 3 months and have only lost 5 pounds…and have been gaining pounds lately.
I’m 5’1 and weigh 135.
I would like to weigh 125.
Can someone pls offer me some advice?
For trying so hard, it’s frustrating not to have significant results.

Here are my concerns/possible issues:

  1. I’m checking my urine and I’m always peeing ketones, sometimes slight or traces but always something.
  2. I eat a lot of sugar-free trident gum.
  3. I drink a lot of heavy whipping cream in my coffee. ( 4 cups a day).
  4. I do use stevia in my coffee as well.
  5. I hardly eat during the day ( maybe some macadamia nuts or string cheese…and coffee) and then at night I have one large meal, along with a 4g net carb protein bar. Meal is usually spinach or Brocolli with chicken/egg/avocado and ranch dressing. Sometimes I have some Parmesan whisps with palmetto spread and sometimes sugar free chocolate.
  6. I workout 3 x a week- run for 30 minutes and lift weights for an hour.

I’m new at keto so I Literally have no clue!!!
Thank uuuuuu

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

A few thoughts:

  • The fast weight losses one hears stories about happened to people with a lot of fat to lose. The closer one gets to one’s goal, the slower the fat loss.
  • It is possible to gain lean mass at the same time as losing fat mass. This confuses the scale no end, but clothing gets looser. The question you have to ask yourself is the following: Would I rather look as though I’ve lost ten pounds and stay the same weight, or lose ten pounds without looking any thinner?
  • Some people have a reaction to certain artificial sweeteners, in which their insulin spikes and hampers fat loss. Try cutting out the sugar-free gum and/or the stevia, just to see if it makes a difference.
  • Even on a low-carb diet, the body is often reluctant to part with its fat store, unless it gets enough calories (it is used to hanging on to its reserves during times of famine). Paradoxically, eating more can speed up the metabolism and enhance fat loss. The key to being sure that your body is getting enough is to avoid eating to a caloric target and instead eat to satiety. In other words, let your body tell you when you’ve given it enough. If you listen carefully, it will set your appetite at a level that will allow it to use some of your excess stored fat as well as the food you eat.
(Carrie ) #3

Part of weight loss with keto is your insulin levels coming down… while artificial sweeteners don’t bump up your blood glucose, they do bump up your insulin. You might try reducing or cutting those out. Also, snacking between meals… even keto snacking… increases insulin. I suspect it’s likely a combination of those things. Otherwise sounds like you’re on the right path and doing great! If limiting the above doesn’t suit you, another thing to try is IF.

(Carl Keller) #4

Hi Summer.

The artificial sweetener aspartame may be causing insulin spikes and keeping our insulin levels low is necessary to lose weight.

Four cups of heavy cream or four cups of coffee with heavy cream? Four cups of heavy cream is like 170 grams of fat. That’s more than enough fat to fuel your body for the entire day and then some. The more dietary fat we eat, the less likely our body fat will be used for fuel.

In general, dairy and nuts are very easy to over eat. Things like cheese, cream and butter can supply us with a lot more fuel than we realize. I try to treat those things like luxuries and prefer to rely on meals consisting of a fatty protein and light buttered vegetables.

I think if you can cut down on the artificial sweeteners and limit dairy, it might make a difference on the scale.

(Summer) #5

Just 4 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream; 4 cups of coffee. Lol

Thank you for the advice.
I’m going to start by eliminating the gum. See how that goes.

(Summer) #6

Thank you!
I will try cutting out snacks and seeetners!

(Summer) #7

Thank you for the advice.
I like the keto lifestyle but I’m a results-oriented person so it’s difficult when I can’t see numbers moving quickly.

#8

I get the desire to quantify things. You may want to consider a glucometer that measures ketones. It’ll give you those numbers and it may help you diagnose what’s happening to your blood sugar as you eat differently.

And, fortunately or unfortunately, some patience may be required with regard to the weight. Your body may be working things out internally (e.g., developing fat adaptation) before the external changes start to happen.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #10

It took me five months to lose. Keto takes time.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

So, which result do you choose? Would you rather look as though you’ve lost ten pounds and stay the same weight, or lose ten pounds without looking any thinner?

(Maria Ortiz) #12

Yikes. You are eating way too many sugar-free products which all contain copious amounts of sugar alcohols, which stalls a lot of people. Stevia can also be an offender. The heavy cream may also be an issue. I personally cannot lose weight while consuming heavy cream or half & half. Also, you aren’t eating enough. You need more protein and more fat and exercising on top of that is going to put your body into starvation mode sooner. Is there sugar or starches in your ranch dressing and palmetto spread? Be diligent about reading ingredients, because from what I just looked up, they both contain sugar and starch. That protein bar as well. You may think I’m picking on your entire diet because I am, and for good reason. You only want to lose 10 lbs and you are currently not overweight or obese. Because you are so close to your normal weight you have to be much more strict as your body will fight further weight loss. I’m short too, 5’2 and my lowest weight on keto was 89 lbs. It wasn’t easy getting there at first because I had to learn to be strict and trick my body time and time again because it was fighting me feverishly. With discipline it will happen. You are new so you have a lot to learn about keto and the foods that should not be consumed. I do not advocate for the Atkins diet at all but I do recommend you read the introduction of the latest book as well as the chapter on induction. It does a good job at explaining why we need to avoid a lot of foods in the beginning and what these foods do to your body and how to get into and stay in ketosis. It is a good stepping stone but wouldn’t follow through with the other phases of that diet.