Has anyone here lost more weight once fat adapted than before?

(Manda) #1

It hasn’t been my experience that I’ve lost more rapidly once fat adapted in the past. I have come across conflicting information, some saying the first 6 weeks are the biggest losses and some saying weight will only drop noticeably after 10 weeks or so. What was the case for you? I have caved and come back sooooo many times. When I’ve been fat adapted I’ve tended to only lose 1-2lb per week, if that. Even with IF.

(Jane) #2

I was typical in that I lost the most the first two weeks (water mostly), then stalled a bit, then started losing again in fits and starts. I was 59 when I started keto and wanted to lose 40 lbs.

I didn’t notice losing weight any faster after being fat adapted- just enjoyed not being hungry. And at my age I would have LOVED to lose 1-2 lbs per week LOL

#3

I lost nothing in the first 7 weeks. Except 4 lbs water weight in the first days, that doesn’t matter. I was just as hungry as before so I ate just as much as before on low-carb (on high-carb, I massively overate, each and every time but that was in the past).
Fat adaptation changed my hunger and satiation - it happens right in ketosis in the case of many people. I started to lose fat then and it continued for a while - off keto, actually, I missed my vegetables - but it was just some honeymoon phase, I gained back that fat when I ate way more again and now I need a stricter diet than my old keto to satiate me while I eat less. But I started keto with my already very stable weight that is extremely hard to change much, only fresh fat-adaptation could do it this far. And OMAD did something too but I couldn’t stick to it for some reason.
It would have been a very different story starting keto with much to lose. Or not needing a lot of food for every meal. Or being willing to sacrifice anything. I don’t resist temptation, want to be satiated all the time… It is noticeable WAY easier to eat less now that I am fat-adapted to some extent. But I don’t try so hard after many years of stalling. So there are many factors.

1-2lbs per week is a quick fat-loss, it’s unrealistic to expect more unless one has very much to lose. I never could lose fat that quickly but it’s fine, I would be happy with a much slower pace - if I don’t need to sacrifice anything, of course. Some challenges are fine and I trained myself to want the right things anyway. Some of us need strong but slowly forming new habits.
Many short woman with not high activity can’t even dream about 1-2lbs per week, at least realistically…
And I saw fat tall men losing fat super slowly on keto, it happens. Poor soul but well, we need to be patient sometimes and life isn’t fair.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

That is an excellent rate of loss.

The point of a ketogenic diet is to lower chronically elevated insulin levels and in the process free excess stored fat to leave the adipose tissue and be available to be metabolised. The rate of metabolism is determined by other factors, and there is a limit to how much fat is available to be consumed in one day.

The stories you hear of rapid weight loss involve people who had a great deal of excess fat to lose, and even they slowed down over time. It takes far longer to lose the last ten or twenty pounds than it does to lose the first hundred or two hundred.

Lastly, in the case of women, sometimes it takes a while for the hormones to re-regulate themselves before fat loss begins. There are numerous posts on these forums by women whose fat loss didn’t start until they had been eating a ketogenic diet for a month or two. It all appears to depend on how the woman was eating during the years before embarking on a ketogenic diet.

(Bunny) #5

Building more muscle is more important to me than simply losing weight.

If you exercised like crazy you could eat as many carbohydrates as you want (500 grams max) and not gain a pound just like in the 80’s and modern aerobics era, this is what I call partial glycogen depletion storage PGDS in other words your eating to compensate for what you just burned up in glycogen, if no exercise and you keep eating then glycogen stores are filled to the max and you start storing body fat. So you burned 0 Body Fat while exercising.

Keeping the glycogen storage filled and partially filled determines whether or not you will store what you eat as body fat.

When you are fat adapted bile determines where glucose will be stored as glycogen and redirects glucose to be stored in muscle tissue as glycogen and then excess is stored as fat or burned for fuel along with ketones but eating excess fat can be stored as body fat also along with glucose and glycogen also ect.

You only burn (lipolysis) body fat during the last stages of sleep in both scenarios, you never burn it while exercising or just because your doing a ketogenic diet. So that may explain why you would see that yo-yo effect with body fat only weight loss or lipogenesis?

The more muscle you have, the more stored body fat gets oxidized when your at rest or sleeping.

The benefit of having more muscle or increasing it is because it takes longer to replenish with glycogen and gives you a head start window and chance (playing the catch up game?) to actually burn body fat.

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#6

I think the rate of weight loss also has a lot to do with how much you need to lose. Starting at 320 pounds, I lost 30 pounds in the first two weeks. Then, I would have short stalls, maybe a week or two, followed by losing another 20 pounds rapidly. After I lost a total of 70 pounds, I had more stalls that lasted longer. I don’t feel bad about that, my body needed to make a bunch of urgent repairs to skin and fat distribution and many metabolic things. I am currently on a stall at a loss of around 95 pounds. I feed stalls, I want my body to be perfectly adjusted. I have not strayed once from basic Keto, I eat all meats and fish and eggs and a good amount of cheese, and almost all my carbs come from veggies. With only these things on the menu, I feed stalls until I feel totally sated and try to only stay within my 20 carbs, occasionally exceeded with fresh veggies. I am able to exercise more than I did before, but that’s not saying much. Asthma and Lyme disease ravaged joints keep me from it. I do use my hand weights periodically for short, simple exercises to strengthen my arms. The weight loss occurred practically without exercise.

I expect to slow down even more, the closer I get to my desired weight. My weapon is to make sure my metabolism doesn’t go south, I don’t want my body to think we have hit times of famine and hold on to stored fat as best it can. I want my body to think stored fat is dispensable, which it is. I enjoy my food and I am in this for the long run, speed is not my focus.

(Bunny) #7

I think what happens in a stall is your storing 0 body fat and gaining 0 body fat so glycogen stays full and your body is having a stand off with you?

So your BMR is slowing down when at rest because it is only using enough energy to power vital processes. Body fat weight and metabolic weight (lean skeletal muscle) are not same thing, so maybe getting the muscles working like lifting weights even with your physical limitations might help speed up burning body fat and stop those stalls? You have to get that metabolic weight up to a certain threshold and body fat burning rate follows in its footsteps. You don’t have to be a body builder to do this.

I have experimented with this on myself and it works flawlessly I can gain and lose body fat practically at Will!

#8

When you lose that much weight, there is a huge adjustment going on for your body. Just the external things - skin has to shrink and tighten (and I am an old lady, albeit not little :slight_smile: ) You have to re-learn how to walk because you kind of waddle because your thighs used to take up so much room, your body had adjusted the way it moves. Your legs being closer together puts strain on your hip joints, they are not in their usual position anymore. And many more things like that. My body needs breaks from active weight loss for adjustments. It does adjust amazingly well. I have been on Keto for a bit less than a year, and 95 pounds is nothing to sneer at. When my body says it needs a break, I happily oblige. I don’t want to stop the stalls. I feel and see weight shifting and skin tightening and equilibrium improving (when you are used to lifting an extra 95 pounds with every move you make, you learn to put force behind your moves, that is not a good thing now). My body says it needs breaks, and I believe it. I have no intention of forcing anything to avoid stalls. Stalls are good for me.

#9

I think it depends on the degree of metabolic damage you have and for how long you have had it and how quickly you heal.

(Manda) #10

Thanks everyone. I’m 34 years old. I have a genetic disorder that means I have a fault in the structure of collagen DNA. So my metabolism isn’t amazing, and I dont have much muscle mass or much hope of improving it. I also have a genetic condition called Lipoedema where my body lays down fibrous fat tissue in response to female hormones. Only on my legs and arms though. I fully understand that it takes time to see changes and that stalls will occur (they already are) I just wanted to see the general consensus on time on keto versus weight reduction. I’m 200lb exactly currently, though that’s not really an accurate reflection because I’m also 8 months pregnant and will likely drop around 30lb after birth going on past births both keto and not keto. Patience is a virtue I understand. I’m hoping mostly that keto improves my pain and joint dislocations, or softens the fibrous fat tissue and lessens the pain it causes. Thanks for all the replies.

#11

WEIGHT, Yes. FAT, no. Stop thinking “weight” loss. It’s the most destructive mind game you can play with yourself. FAT loss is the name of the game. 1-2lbs a week is pretty respectable if you can keep it up. What would your realistic weight loss speed be? You can loose more than that… if you want to but many don’t want to do what it takes.

I (think) that’s what a friend of mine has, hits the legs the hardest right? Have you ever looked into doing things like cycles of PSMF’s?

Why is that?

#12

Joint issues I am very familiar with. I had undiagnosed Lyme disease in my early 40s (Lyme wasn’t that well known back then, and I was told repeatedly that it was all in my head.) My cure is a long story, but it left me with badly damaged joints throughout. Practically no cartilage, and it’s painful. There has been some improvement since I started drinking tons of home made broth. I put the bones in a pressure cooker all day, they come out soft. The broth is delicious, and I use some for soups and gravies or just drink a mug as a pick-me-up. I also take some glucosamine/condroitin supplement. Between those and the weight loss there has been some very noticeable improvement.

(Manda) #13

I’m pretty good at doing what things take, but I can’t do strenuous exercise. Faulty collagen plays into muscle wastage or not having a great mass. I can and have improved it slightly but it’s about all I can hope for. When I said 1-2lb a week if that, I meant the if that part. If I see a loss it is only ever 1-2lb that can happen as infrequently as every 4-6 weeks. Yep lipoedema hits the legs in most cases worst. I’m a stage 2 myself.

(Manda) #14

I did wonder if bone broth was delicious because I bloody love a good gravy or stock lol. I should definitely make some. I’m glad you’re seeing improvement. I take collagen every day, and so far I think I feel improvement. It’s hard to tell as I’m sure you know what I mean by that. Lyme is horrible and im so sorry you had to deal with that.

(Pete A) #16

What accomplishments? :slight_smile:

(Pete A) #17

Yes.

This and yes more. I’m still adjusting haha and lost the bulk of my weight 5 years ago.

#18

1-2lb per week is really good. Being only four weeks into keto I have only lost a few lb myself but don’t expect more so early on. I calculate it will take six months to a year before any real progress will show, and would track this progress with measuring tape, progress photos and of course your wardrobe will also tell you if you are losing. What a number on the scale says is less important than how you look and feel, as muscle weighs more than fat. As to if you lose more when you reach fat-adaptation I couldn’t say. I imagine if the body begins to use fat for fuel instead of carbs it will both use up the food you eat as fuel and also get some from your storage, provided it doesn’t just get enough from your food? But what it shouldn’t do is store that fat. I imagine any weight loss is going to be gradual, not swift, apart from initial water loss. Do you keep a progress journal at all? And maybe it would be an idea to take a break from the scale, it can be such a nuisance.