Frustration.... 4 weeks in

(Kayla) #1

It’s my fourth week in. My first two weeks were great, 11 pounds down. These last two weeks, NOTHING! I haven’t changed anything, I am super strict. Under 20 net carbs a day, typically between 13-17. MCT oil. I have all of my meals mapped out so I’m reaching macros. Any suggestions??? I’m really getting frustrated and it’s starting to take its toll emotionally on me…

(VLC.MD) #2

Plateaus happen. It is your body fighting change. KCKO.
Try IF if you want to speed it up.

(Kayla) #3

I thought maybe a plateau but after 2 weeks? That is even more frustrating lol! I have been trying IF. about 15/9 but that’s not enough I don’t think. I need to up that! That’s for the encouragement!

(Allie) #4

Maybe this thread will help you…

(Richard Hanson) #5

Good Morning Kayla,

If it is not overly intrusive, what are your macros?

Keto for Life,
Richard

(Kayla) #6

Numbers change by a couple each day, VERY few though.
Calories between 1200-1300
Carb under 20, typically 13-17, under 4%
Protein, max is 114g 27%
Fat about 122g about 67%

#7

Perfectly normal. You are doing nothing wrong.

Well maybe something! You are taking that initial weight loss, which is usually reasonably high, and projecting it forward expectation-wise. What would be a better projection would be to actually average that initial loss out and project forward time-wise instead. So a really good weight loss would be 2lbs a week. You ask pretty well anyone if they have averaged a consistent 2lb weight loss weekly - not many have. So… looking through this new perspective, a plateau for 3-4 weeks would be likely. It might be that you are a 1lb a week person, or less.

Of course, weight loss is not linear and the pattern you are likely to see is a drop followed by a level period followed by a drop, maybe a gain, then a level, then… You get the idea. What you are looking for over a much longer period is an overall downward trend. At this point I will throw up the bat signal and call @siobhan to see if she will post a copy of her weight loss chart which illustrates this perfectly.

Weight loss is also very variable depending on your gender, age, fitness level, stress level, sleep you get, health status, previous weight history, etc.

It is frustrating, I know that, but the best advise really is to KCKO (Keep Calm and Keto On). With the drops in weight that will add up over the next year, just think where you will be this time next year.

(Stacey) #8

The closer you are to your goal weight, the slower the weight comes off.

(Kayla) #9

Very helpful! Thank you!

(Siobhan) #10

Screenshot_20171105-174523
Screenshot_20171105-174523.png720×1280 44.1 KB

the chart in question

(Kayla) #11

This was so helpful and encouraging. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much @Daisy ! This is exactly what I needed to hear this morning. I think I get that I won’t lose every week but it’s frustrating because of those first two weeks and because I want it so bad and I’m working so hard, I fear that I am doing something wrong. I get reassurance that this is normal is so relieving. I am so glad I found this page and this support !!!

(Kayla) #12

Just started. No where NEAR my goal weight :frowning:

(Richard Hanson) #13

Thanks Kayla,

My doctor prescribed my ketogenic diet, and I was to eat “moderate” protein, which he defined as 0.8 g/day per kg of lean body mass. With a bit of back of the napkin math and a goal weight of 165 lb and a normal body fat percentage for a health man of about 15%, my protein intake should be around 50 g/day and that is my macro goal.

Adolescents, body builders, pregnant women, people who are creating a lot more lean body mass will need to eat more.

If I ate 114 g/day of protein, my body would need to do something with all the access protein and some portion of that would get turned into glucose in a process call gluconeogenesis. Worse, like carbohydrates, there is a rather strong insulin response to eating protein even if blood glucose levels do not rise. Insulin is a hormone that plays a strong role in the mobilization of fat in our fat deposits.

All of this … you might consider eating less protein. Certainly that is what my doctor prescribed for me, and I have found that I am rather sensitive to my level of protein consumption.

Other than that, you look like you are doing great, what a wonderful start on your keto journey. Awesome!

With a high level of compliance and by instrumenting your diet by collecting data, and by carefully planing your consumption, you have the power to test if different changes have a positive impact on your personal experience.

Keto for Life,
Richard

(Kayla) #14

Wow! This is awesome to see !!! Congrats to you! But this is awesome to see this up and down and that it is normal.

(Bacon for the Win) #15

how about weighing once a month instead of every week/day? it’s hard but freeing at the same time. When I’m not happy with the amount lost in a month (say 5 lbs when I was hoping for 10), I count the weight not gained too!

(VLC.MD) #16

Keep striving for short term results but I’d remember you’ll be eating Keto everyday for the next 18 months minimum. 4 weeks down, 75 to go.

If you like quick results, fasting is the best. Very liberating as well. Read dr fung’s fasting book. You are probably not ready for fasting … yet.

(Kayla) #17

Wow!! Thank you for that Richard !!! I actually was thinking I might be consuming too much protein! Maybe I will try and cut that back a bit ! This was really quite information. Thank you so much for all of your information and insight. I really appreciate it SOO much !!!

(Kayla) #18

This is definitely a possibility to consider! I’ve been tracking weekly! I could definitely switch it to monthly. Thank you for the suggestion!!

(Kayla) #19

I do realize this is a long term diet and am striving for short term goals but that’s part of the problem, I am failing at my short term goals. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the ‘quick’ results I like. It was just frustrating that I lost so good the first two weeks and now nothing and I fear that I am doing wrong. I am slowing trying to incorporate IF. So we will see how that works as well as the tips I am taking from everyone’s suggestions here!

#20

I completely understand. I have done exactly the same thing. I had weight loss surgery so would get massive drops in weight and then chart out my future progress based on that. FAIL!!! What I would do is just take a deep breath, slap myself round the face (OK didn’t actually do it physically!) and look at what had happened in previous years and how I had gained weight or regained lost weight etc. I just thought that even if I maintained the same weight I was at that moment what an improvement it would be to before. But of course you are almost guaranteed to lose weight over a year just so long as you keep plodding forward. There could be so many reasons why it won’t just obligingly drop off week on week and most of those have nothing to do with what you and fine tuning what you are eating. It isn’t fair and it is horrible to hear about other people who just seem to have it falling off. Men tend to lose weight more easily and also people tend to post loud and proud (rightly so) when they have lost the weight so you see the dramatic change and look at the big picture. Were you to see the smaller pictures that make up the whole, I suspect they would look much more familiar. You can do this, just keep plodding forward one day at a time and just imagine where you will be a year form now. x