Guidance


(Jozef) #1

Hello Everyone,

I am entering week 4 of my journey into Keto.

I will provide a breakdown of what I have done and maybe I can get assistance with filling in the gaps of stuff I may be doing wrong.

My starting weight was 234lbs I am now at 227.5 and will occasionally go to 228.

I follow a strict 20 grams of carbs or less per day.

I eat a ton of leafy salads some chicken thighs and steak, asparagus and make keto egg muffins for breakfast or an omelette that contain bacon with little or no sugar mostly no sugar bacon.

I easily drink about 4.5 litres of water per day and have avoided all juice pop etc… I drink my coffee black.

In order to increase my fat intake I will put butter in my coffee every morning, I am constantly using avocado oil or MCT oil as well. For salad dressing I am using a paleo dressing the brand name is Primal and is all natural no sugar etc.

I go to the gym 3x a week while completing full body exercises and warm up by doing 15 min steep incline walk.

The first week or so I was not in ketosis and after speaking with a friend he advised me to get the urine test strips he had helped me determine at the time I wasn’t taking in enough fat. That is when I started with the butter and MCT oil and almost instantly 2 days later the test showed I was in ketosis. I have been pretty much rinse and repeat since then. The test shows every morning I am in ketosis state but around 5 pm I test again and it says I am not or very little. I have read that with the amount of water I drink testing throughout the day is not recommended is this true?

My concern is as I am entering week 4 and have been as strict as possible and certainly in caloric deficit I feel I should be losing more weight, in fact some mornings I wake up and I have gained .5 pound.

I also take L - Carintene prior to my workout and before bed to metabolize fats.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.


(Scott) #2

This may be the problem. Try disregarding calories and only focus on restricting carbs. I know it is counter intuitive but it really worked for me.


(Jozef) #3

The thing is, im not starving by any means I eat when I am hungry I just know the food that I am eating would total up to being in a deficit.


(Jane) #4

In spite of the hype, keto is not a quick weight loss way of eating. It is all about balancing hormones, reducing insulin response and healing the internal damage from years of eating seed oils and sugar.

A lot is going on inside you cannot measure and the scale is a terrible indicator except over monthly trends. Also 3-4 weeks is typically when the body takes a breather and weight loss stalls. Frustrating when your mindset is “I’ve given up all the foods I love and I should be losing weight like crazy!” Nope. The weight will come off in its own time and reducing calories and increasing exercise doesn’t necessarily work since your metabolism can adjust to match input and output.


(Jane) #5

How do you feel now compared to before keto? Energy? Moods? Hunger? Joint Pain?


(Andi loves space, bacon and fasting. ) #6

Every once and I while I re-read this post. It really helps me to calm down. This is a journey to get healthier, and the weight will come off … eventually. Trust in the Keto :). You are doing all of the right things, just be patient. KCKO


(Jozef) #7

I actually feel lighter if that makes sense. Yes I have lost 6 lbs but essentially I do not feel bloated, Mood seems to be OK, Energy is good. If I am hungry ill eat but I do not eat as much I feel as if I become more full easier even if I am not eating alot.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #8

Per @Janie @andesite Keto works primarily to return your body and metabolism to normal and in the process usually trends toward normalized weight as a beneficial side effect. Yes, you can force faster weight loss by various means, but the general advice is not to do so for the first several weeks while you are slowly adapting to the new fuel. Let your body and metabolism do what they need to do and if that means losing less than you expected just accept that. You didn’t get to 234 overnight and you won’t get rid of it overnight. If reality doesn’t conform to your expectations, the problem is not reality. There are others on this forum who have lost significant weight who can offer specific advice about what to do and not do; what to expect and not. Use the search function, as this topic is very commonly repeated by every newbie who starts keto to lose weight.

My specific suggestions are: “Eat less, move more” does NOT work. Restricting calories runs the risk of slowing your metabolism, so approach with caution. Your gym workouts probably are NOT helping at this point and may in fact be hindering. You do NOT need carnitine supplements. You do NOT need ‘a ton of leafy salads’, 100 grams of bok choy is much better if you want greens. You do NOT need ‘salad dressing’, plain olive oil, avocado oil and/or lard are better. For most, the more fat you eat the less body fat you burn, but there’s a balance you will discover by trial and error.

Best wishes.


(Ethan) #9

It sounds like you might not be eating much


(Jozef) #10

Thanks for the help,

Why would Gym workouts hinder my results?


(Ethan) #11

Your body probably isn’t getting enough energy and dropped metabolism


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #12

Muscle weighs more than fat. If you burn fat you lose the weight of the fat. If you build muscle you gain the weight of the muscle. Generally, if you want to lose ‘overall weight’ then concentrate on burning the fat first. Once you’ve lost the fat and reached your weight goal, you can move on to building muscle. You will then gain back some overall weight, but it will be mostly muscle. If you do both simultaneously, then your weight loss will be much slower, but you will still be in better shape and fitness. There are several members of this forum who are very knowledgeable about this, so search for similar topics/posts. I’ll do it for you:


(Susan) #13

I wasn’t getting enough fats when I started but found making Keto Fat Bombs a few times a week (keeping them in the freezer) and eating a few a day has really helped keep me in Ketosis and improved my steady loss. I don’t do any exercise except the normal running around after my almost 3 year old grand daughter, and I do some walks on occassion, more from having to do them to get somewhere then doing them for exercise.