Help! plateau and are my macros right? AND constipation

[sgloss487]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been doing keto for about two months and lost about 15lb. I currently weigh 169 and am 5ft 1in. I’m aiming to lose an additional 39lb (to reach 130 or so).

I currently eat 1369 calories, macros goals: protein 59g, carbs 20g, fat 114g. I have been stuck at the same weight for the past three weeks and I’m really frustrated. I’ve tried time-restricted eating which had been working for me (not eating between 4pm and 6am generally), now this isn’t working. I tried not doing restricted eating, no difference. I am very careful about measuring, tracking and logging food. I eat very few processed foods, with the exception of bacon, which I ensure is just regular and doesn’t have hidden carbs.

Something I have been struggling with for the past two months is also constipation. Sometimes I’ll go 7 days without a bowel movement and will need to take a laxative to move things. I now put coconut oil in my coffee to try to help things, but it isn’t helping. I still put it in my coffee as a way to get fat and it does make me more energetic.

So anyways, guys–help. Are my macros wrong? I got a blood ketone meter and yesterday evening it read 4.4, which I read is starvation ketosis so maybe I’m not eating enough? I ended up having spinach, an egg and bacon that evening and this morning it read 3.3 which is better. I’m also now working out several times a week, which I would hope would help with a plateau but I read so many contradicting things on the internet. I just need hope that I can move past this 169lb mark, and keep going down. I feel like my body just wants to stay stuck here.

Any tips on my macros, my plateau, and my constipation will be much appreciated!

Thanks

[Capnbob]

which I read is starvation ketosis so maybe I’m not eating enough?

i wrote this for someone else but I’d write it here too…

Eating fat to satiety - but not enough?

Your nutritionist is probably right (how often do I say that?? ). Your TDEE should be about 1600, sedentary. The body is great at adapting to what you force it to. That applies to fat adaptation in keto but also to lowering BMR under calorie restriction. If you have adapted to that pre-keto it is quite possible that your energy requirements and satiety signals are no longer valid or reliable. Eating more generally tells the body to burn more (switch on dormant systems like skin, …

or this one…

Worried of Failing

Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is somewhere between 1600kcal and 2200kcal depending on your level of activity (sedentary to very active). https://tdeecalculator.net You should aim to eat to your TDEE while you are adapting so you don’t starve yourself and over stress your body. This is often a shock to people used to calorie restricting as the path to weight loss. It usually means you can eat more than you are used to or expect to which can be its own challenge, but this is what w…

Can’t comment on the constipation though you should search the forum since this has been a discussed issue in several threads.

[PaulL]

Constipation on a ketogenic diet is usually the result of inadequate salt intake. Your kidneys are excreting sodium and water at a much higher rate, without carbohydrate in your system, so you need to put more salt on your food, and be sure to drink to thirst. There is new research indicating that we probably need something like 5,000-7,000 milligrams of salt daily.

Try watching this presentation by Dr. Phinney:

[Keto6468]

Used a stunning amount on my steak yesterday! Must have needed it.

K

[shorty71780]

I agree with maybe upping your calorie intake, preferably from fat. As far as the constipation goes, I take Magnesium Citrate 500 mg daily and it has helped me tremendously. It’s also good to note that you will not have a bowel movement as much as you did pre-keto. Please forgive me as I do not know the science behind this, but I generally go every 4th or 5th day. Maybe someone can explain this science.

[PaulL]

For one thing, with meat, we’re absorbing a higher percentage and leaving less residue in the digestive tract.

[ravyn68]

Wow! We have parallel patterns. I wish I had the answer, but al I can do is validate what you’re experiencing. I’ve been on KETO since last Aug, and have lost 29 to 30 pounds. My weight fluctuates each week from 165.4 my lowest to 166.8. I’ve been stuck in this loop since February. I did eat a few pints of Halo Top, so I figured that had a lot to do with it. So, the next few weeks I’m going to try and limit veggies (I’m insulin resistant), and increase my fat with bullet proof coffee in the am. I usually do 18 to 22 hour IF, but nothing moved in the scale. I’ve decided to try BP Coffee in the AM, because I wasn’t able to get all my calories in, which is supposed to be 1251. I don’t wanna count calories, but because I have staulled I think I need more fat. (Shrug). I’m taking a stab in the dark.

[PaulL]

Found this piece on the Virta blog:
https://blog.virtahealth.com/fiber-colon-health-ketogenic-diet/

[Anita_Huska]

Did you try some flax meal seems to help me. Just add it with something better than the seeds.