Have you lost weight very slowly but surely?


#1

I’m a 47 year old woman and I have about 100lbs to lose (give or take!)

Since starting 6 weeks ago I have lost the grand total of 2.5lbs which is the equivalent of 0.4lbs per week! So at this rate it’s looking like I will reach my goal weight some time in 2023 :anguished: Better than nothing I suppose.

Anyway I am trying to come to terms with my tortoise like metabolism and embrace the slow! I mean it took decades to get to this point right?! :grimacing:

What I could do with though is some encouragement from others who are or have been in the same boat.

So please tell me your stories of taking months to lose a lb or an inch so I don’t lose heart completely.


(Karen) #2

It is mostly a female issue.

K


(Alec) #3

Don’t be discouraged. It can take some time for the process to work. Just trust the process. And 0.4lbs per week is not nothing and it is in the right direction!

Your body may well have some considerable derangement to deal with. Once it has sorted itself (it will if you give it time on keto), you will find it suddenly decides to shed weight.

KCKO!
Cheers
Alec


(Rob) #4

Hello and welcome to the forums!
I’m sure some of the more senior folks will be along with some thoughts but as a relative newcomer to keto who is also a slow loser (3 pounds first 8 weeks). I’ll share a few thoughts to consider while other replies are coming in.

It would be helpful if you posted your macros … your target fat, protein, carbohydrates and calories for a day. Most advice I’ve seen on this forum so far is basically keeping a real good eye on your carbohydrate intake initially and add the others in as you acclimate and transition to this way of eating (WOE).

First I would suggest carefully counting whateevr mart of your macros you’re tracking every day. For instance if you’re just concentrating on your carbohydrates for now, make sure you accurate count and measure your carbs. That may include carefully reading labels, using the search engine of your choice when in doubt, and keeping some kind of record of what you’ve eaten. You may or may not already be doing this.

I count/measure fat, protein, carbs and calories every day. It was a little tedious at first … initially chasing down the nutritional data in some foods (a good phone app is your friend - more later), but if you don’t carefully monitor what you’re eating, your diet may not be what you think it is. You may be getting more carbs, not eating enough fat … going over or under on your calories (both can hinder fat loss), etc. You won’t KNOW until you measure .

I would recommend that you put a keto dietary app on your phone. Phone app discussions come up from time to time on here. The best one is the one that meets your needs and one you will use. I use the one I use because I FINALLY made it through the learning curve, it meets my needs, and it seriously simplifies my record keeping. There has been a recent discussion on an app called LoseIt. Evidently some very keto friendly changes were made that are now available on the IOS (Apple) version. The android world will evidently be getting those changes in a week or so. Anyway … try a few and find one you like. I’d suggest getting the paid version once you find one you like as it’s generally more complete.

Anyway, by tracking what you eat each day, you can either eliminate your eating as a source of slow loss of you may find you’re taking in more of something than you thought. 13g of carbohydrates in 1 cup of 2% milk … who knew?

I heard stories from many helpful members when I was around 6 or 7 weeks in who indicated they had a similar experience at first and the weight loss started in earnest after x weeks (8 - 12 was what I heard). Despite what the mainstream mixed up media says, keto isn’t fast weight loss. It is a great lifestyle change and it helps you keep the weight off.

At some point you may want to consider some form of fasting. It’s not as scary as it sounds, and it too has a number of health benefits. I’m a recent convert and I suspect at my next weigh in (I don’t weigh real often) I’ll see a change. I have gone down a belt hole recently :-).

Lots of good info on fasting in the forum as well as lots of support. You can also find some good fasting info by Dr. Jason Fung and others on youtube.

Lastly … read, read, and read some more. Lots of good info already on the forum. Listen to the 2ketodudes podcasts … they’re extremely informative. The search engine on the forum is your friend.

Probably won’t make you feel any better but your experience with slow loss isn’t unusual. Some people drop a bunch at once … others take more time. Avoid comparing your progress to anyone elses. We’re all wonderfully different.


(Alec) #5

Rob
This is real progress. Don’t worry about the weight. Losing belt holes is more important health-wise! Well done!
Cheers
Alec


(Emsa) #6

Hey Debstar,

My scales are not moving but my face and body are changing. My suggestion is not to focus on the scales but to look out for the non-scale victories (i.e. health, cheek bones, belt loops, feeling fab, clear skin) the the weight will look after itself.

For instance, I’ve had to go and buy a new bra this week and I wouldn’t mind so much if my photo taken as my face is no longer puffy. For me, these are huge steps.


#7

JHey Debstar,
I agree with everyone, especially @MarvinGardens.
We are all different, and things happen in different ways.

I’ve been here for seven weeks, have learnt a LOT. I may case I’ve lost 20lbs or so, BUT not one person has noticed. Not one. I’ve lost ten percent of my body weight and not one comment.

So I’m kind of doing the opposite of NSV, I’m OSV (only scale victories!)

You won’t always get what you expect, but if you KCKO it will end up better.

I’m keen to see what happens when you check in with us in three months time. I’m sure it will be better news.


(Michelle) #8

I am 43 and have about 60 lbs to lose. More like 80 to get to my ideal BMI, but I find that weight to be unhealthy for me. My experience with keto, after ravaging my body for the past 30 years with various diets, is that I initially lost a lot of inflammation. I lost 15 lbs of retained fluid that was making my face and neck puffy, my arm pits and breasts as well. I can see that my arms lay down closer to my sides due to losing that inflammation. Since that initial weight loss, I have lost nothing according to the scale. However I feel like my body composition is changing. My clothes are looser, I sleep better, and i don’t have the constant feeling of hunger that I typically have. It’s not all about the scale, but you probably have 35 years of battling with the scale to overcome. Get rid of it. Every once in a while try on a shirt you haven’t worn in a while. I have a stack of clothes in my closet that will fit properly in a few weeks. Occasionally Trying them on keeps me on track.


(Rob) #9

Hey @Debstar,

Just a follow up to my prior post. I just finished 10 weeks of keto … throughout that time I have measured and weighed everything I ate, I computed the macros of what I ate (the carb counts of what I eat are as accurate as I can make them). I also have some sweat drenched workouts during the week.

OK … my weigh in at the end of 10 weeks showed a total loss of 7 … count 'em , 7 pounds. Some of that was lost during a recent 4+ day fast. I see quite frequently taht men have it easier … slow loss is mostly a female thing. Slow losers come in all varieties and genders.

Anyway … since this sis an encouragement thread, I was advised over and over again to “trust the system”. I was skeptical at 5 or 6 weeks. After all of the reading and research I’ve done (I still have a lot to do) I seriously trust the system.

I forgot whether I or others mentioned non scale victories … things that are wonderful apart from the number on the scale. One non scale victory overlooked is sticking with something that will provide so many benefits. It’s EASY to stick with something when everything is rosy and advancing well. When you’re apparently doing all the right things and maybe going above and beyond the call … and you’re not seeing a lot of visible/measurable progress stick with it ness is not easy.

Keep doing/make sure you’re doing the right things, do some research into your own known conditions to see if something there might be contributing.

I’m convinced at this point … particularly after binge watching some Youtube presentations by Dr. Stephen Phinney that I am seriously insulin resistant. I had a Dr. tell me taht a few years ago, but at that time the phrase meant nothing. Some combination of keto and fasting will eventually lower my insulin resistance but it won’t happen overnight (and sometimes I wish it would).

Keep doing the right things, keep learning, and keep at it and the results will come. Weight loss most other ways will be temporary. In the meantime, check out the NSV (non scale victories) thread and read what others have found to be encouraging. Be an encourager to those having victories … NSV or otherwise … do some likes … give an encouraging response. Our turn to be the ones with something good to show for our efforts will come (I’m really looking forward to posting pictures i the before and after thread some day). In the meantime, become active in the community.


(Jean Guthrie) #10

I’m 46 with a SUPER slow metabolism and I have about 70 pounds to lose. I am on week 8 and I am losing about .5 - 1 pound per week. Super slow, BUT I measure the beginning of every month and I keep losing inches places even when the scale does not move. I started putting my scale up and only weighing once a month. It helps doing that because I don’t get mad when I see none or very little loss. My clothes feel great plus other benefits in the way I feel and look. I think losing slow will help keep it off. Good luck!


(Lane) #11

Hi, So I’ve been doing keto now for about 40 days, I’m female, going to be 55 in two weeks, had a hysterectomy and was recently diagnosed with NAFLD with NASH. When I saw a liver specialist a few weeks ago at Cedars in Los Angeles, he was supportive of my diet with minor adjustments (he asked me to avoid red meat). But he encouraged me to go slowly because rapid weight loss is hard on the liver. My goal weight is about 140, and I am currently 185. He expects it should take a year to do it safely. At first on keto, I lost almost a pound a day. Then as soon as I dipped into the 180’s, I sort of stalled for a few weeks. I checked my ketones, and they were good, so I just kept the faith, removed a bit of the cheese I had been consuming and more weight dropped. I have a feeling it’s going to be like that, losing maybe a half pound a week or 10 days. As long as it keeps dropping, I’m good.


(Moriah ) #12

Hi Debstar,
I can’t decide if responding to you with my info will give you hope or not but here goes!
I have been IF since November, 36 hours EOD with one week break and went keto since the end of January. Coming up on 5 months keto. I went for awhile where I was not doing fasting as I was fat adapting and I still have trouble doing 36 hour fasts as I get extremely hungry and not feeling well around the 21 hour and I eat. I do those “21 hour” fasts every other day during the week sometimes 3 a week sometimes more. I had lost around 10 lbs from November to Jan. (non keto) probably water weight mostly, but have been on progressive stalls from that point forward. I loose about an average of 1.25 pounds a month. I have at least 26 more to loose before I get a dexascan and see where my percentages are at. I had a great laugh regarding your reference of meeting goal in 2023.
My suggestion is to take measurements, plan to do blood work around the 3-4 month mark (where your A1C is 3months of keto) work on learning portion sizes of protein (with a scale) find a good app to log what you are eating that gives the macros of the foods that you log and finally, be kind to yourself. fat adapting for me was at least 3 months. In my opinion, Its too short of a time to be evaluating how you can loose weight but focus more on how you are feeling and adjusting so you are feeling good and healthy. Our bodies are going through real shock at changing around how we get energy. If there is insulin resistance then its going to take some time. Dr. Fung does a good job talking about insulin resistance in the Oct-Nov 2017 podcast of obesity code.
I also bought a cheepo alcohol breath meter (this site talks about various brands) and I check it quite regularly. if it registers very low or zero, I ask myself what I ate yesterday and today. That breath meter makes me happy! Once you are thoroughly fat adapted, then focus strongly on macros and figure out what protein grams you need (I had widely varying results going to different apps to figure my protein). One site calculated nearly twice the protein than another site. I had to play around with that quite a bit before settling on a number of grams. Also, look on the forum for the Whoosh effect. it has to do with water weight and I notice that right before the scale registers a loss, that my body has water weight. I use my wedding ring to tell me if I have water weight or not. If its super tight then I know I’ve got a few pounds of water weight. If it slips easily then I know I’m good. If its tight I really ramp up the water.
so on keto I’m now down 6-7 lbs after 5 months. I am down a pant size and had to buy new pants. my blood work is fantastic given I was into the prediabetes A1C level before. I am down a couple of inches in my waist measurement but no change in measurements such as legs and arms.
this is truly a lifestyle. know that you are preventing cancer, preventing dementia, preventing type II diabetes by doing what you are doing right now. Good luck and keep us updated!