HELP! Something not right with my weight?

#1

Hello fellow ketoers!

I have been steadily loosing weight for the last 2 months since starting this diet. I have had a few times where my weight levels off for a few days or so, but then starts going down again. I am doing this Keto diet with weight loss as my primary goal.

However, the last 7 days, my weight has been doing some weird stuff.

1/10 - 282.8
1/11 - 279.9
1/12 - 283.7
1/13 - 279.9
1/14 - 282.4
Then today 1/16 it jumped all the way up to 286.5!

My net carb intake has been less than 20 and total carb intake has been less than 30 every day during this time. I only eat about half my calculated fat allowance and keep my protein at or slightly below my calculated limit.

I exercise 4-5 days a week and exercised every day during this time except Sunday. My exercises are vigorous for about 30-45 minutes doing cardio. I then have been alternating weights for upper and lower body focusing mostly on strength building.

I have been intermittent fasting daily from about 8pm until about 12 noon the next day. Then I eat lunch and then dinner at between about 5-7. I did have a keto dessert twice during this time at about 7:30, but that was the day before I saw a weight loss the next day.

I just don’t understand how my weight could be jumping by about 3-4Lbs a day. And now I am more than I was before this started.

I really feel like I am doing something wrong.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Feel free to lay it on thick if needed, I can probably take it.

Thanks,
Kratos

(Robert C) #2

You are just measuring hydration differences – fat cannot leave and return to the body at these rates. Given your eating pattern you are probably steadily losing a few ounces of fat each day.

If you want accurate weight differences you have to set yourself up for them.

Say you want to weigh in every Friday morning.

You need to eat exactly the same meals and portions every Thursday (all day – every Thursday).

Then you need to monitor water intake – drinking the same amount of water at the same intervals from about noon into the evening.

You also need to either skip exercise or always exercise the same way each Thursday.

THEN – you can get a fairly accurate measure of your true fat (and potentially muscle) difference weekly.

(Katie) #3

I agree that it is just inflammation/water retention. Exercise causes inflammation and water retention (not a bad thing).

A good way to track weight loss is to take your weekly average. So every Saturday average your daily numbers, then forget about that week’s daily numbers, and track and compare the Saturdays over time.

#4

Could also be an issue with your scale. Mine has gotten rather unreliable in the past few weeks.

#5

I’m using one from a company that uses lo carb (not keto) as their program. It was was free and offered through my employer. It’s got a cellular chip in it so every weight gets sent to them every day. They don’t endorse Keto, but said if that’s what I want to do then I can (technically said “if you want to be more hardcore then I won’t stop you”).

Honestly I have no idea how accurate this scale really is since I’ve never heard of the brand before…

(Scott) #6

I have a logging scale so I weigh at the same time in the morning daily. Starting in July my weight (208 ilb)dropped so fast the graph looked like a cliff. Starting November 3rd it has leveled off to a rage between 187 and 188. It is as if I picked this for maintenance. I have not changed my diet or carb intake. I am not alarmed as I only have about ten pounds to lose and I am increasing my running miles gradually. I am giving it time and may end up changing some things after I watch it a bit. To the OP this can happen but stay on plan and if needed adjust but right now I would just monitor for a while.

(Cindy) #7

If it runs on batteries, it could be acting “wonky.” Also, it doesn’t sound like you know who else is using it. Most scales, at some point, can be recalibrated or “tared,” so if someone is messing with that at their weigh-ins, it’ll change everyone else’s weights.

But even if none of the above is true, as other’s have said, those kind of fluctuations are only water.

#8

I am a bit alarmed as I still have 60-80 Lbs to go to hit my target.

At this point, I don’t see any reason not to stay on plan. However, I am a small victory kind of guy so when I see don’t see my weight going down, my starts to wonder into the “what am I doing wrong” section of my brain.

I know for a fact that I am the only person using it. My wife has her own and my child uses my wife’s if/when needed. Plus I have made it very clear to them both that if they use my scale, they will send their weight to the company that is doing my lifestyle change program and it will cause major issue, not to mention I will then tell them who’s weight the reading really was.

I am hoping and trusting that it is water fluctuations. I guess I just didn’t expect to be storing water weight if I’m not eating carbs anymore, or at least not enough to cause water weight storage.

Either way. I was thinking about it some today and talking with my wife, who is also doing Keto, and our plan is to average our weights each week and if we don’t see positive change in about 3-4 weeks, we will try doing a 3-4 day water fast. From what I have learned thus far, a water fast can be a great way to break through a plateau.

Thanks for the kind words, suggestions, and overall encouragement!

Kratos

#9

If you’re doing all what you say you’re doing then it is simply water/fluid retention caused by something you ate or unusual quantity of something. And you’re probably in for a pleasing “whoosh” and weight dip any day now.

Have you tried simply using your index finger to press in on your shin bone half way between your knee and ankle?

The dept of the impression left (if any) will give you a quick idea if you’re retaining fluid. I know that I’m not real happy if I can’t darn near see bone. If I leave a significant dent, I figure its time to hydrate some more. But I don’t freak out like used to because I know a whoosh is coming.

(Unless you want to be really depressed, don’t do the shin test after you’ve eaten shellfish. I know.)

Another test for fluid retention that I use is for wrist circumference. I note whether I can put my index finger around my wrists at certain times of the day or how close I can come to touching the encircling fingers. A note: your wrists are normally swollen in the mornings and during or right after exercise.

Just some gauges.

(Diane) #10

One simple thing would be to make sure you don’t need to change the batteries in your scale.

(Diane) #11

I’ve found that several foods contain something I’m sensitive to and cause a great deal of fluid retention indicated by weight gain the next morning (anywhere from 3 to 6 pounds overnight).

If I eat Boar’s Head smoked Gouda from the deli, or if I eat store bought (or restaurant prepared) mayonnaise or creamy salad dressing made with soybean or canola oil, I see these dramatic fluctuations in my weight overnight. Your weight fluctuations may indicate a food sensitivity that is causing inflammation.

Food sensitivities can be different from food allergies in that a reaction may not be as dramatic and may take up to three days to show up. Sometimes, it can be a reaction when you eat a combination of foods that causes the reaction. Makes it much harder and more frustrating to pin down.