I just can’t seem to get my macros right and my weight is coming back

(Derek Hebeler) #1

I’ve been doing keto since February. I was close to my goal weight of 185 already (was at 201 at start) so was expecting a slow weight loss. To my surprise, I dropped to 191 in a week and then got to 189 after 4 weeks on Keto.

The problem I’m having is that I think all that was water weight. I weighed myself and I am at 197 only 3 weeks after being 189. This has to be mostly water weight but it’s upsetting to say the least.

The biggest obstacle I am facing is hurting my
Macros. It seems simply impossible to get enough fats and calories without getting too much protein and carbs. I have tried multiple different meal plans and can not get to my target macros with any combo of meals on any given day.

I am disappointed. I’m in ketosis (averaging 2.1 mmol) and yet seeing a reversal of results. What should I do?

(Ethan) #2

Can you give an example of a meal plan?

(Derek Hebeler) #3

I followed Ruled Me’s 30 Day Ketogenic Diet meal plan to a T for 30 days and most of my meals come from that. I also use some meals from The Keto Cookbook

(Roy D) #4

Try the following;

Bulletproof coffee
Fat Bombs
Cream Cheese
Heavy Whipping Cream
Sour Cream
Olives
Butter (add melted to all foods)

(Derek Hebeler) #5

Use all the above. I really feel like I’m stuck lol

(Ethan) #6

Are you gaining muscle? What bf% are you at now

(Derek Hebeler) #7

I was lifting up until last week because I felt like I was burning way more calories than I could consume to just prevent going into starvation mode so I’m sure I’ve gained some muscle but not almost 10 lbs. I have no way of telling other than just by eyesight I’d say I’m somewhere betweenness 20 and 15% body fat

(Ethan) #8

Sounds like you added lean mass to me. Do clothes fit differently? If they are looser, you definitely added lean mass and lost fat.

(Karl) #9

You can stop worrying about starvation mode :slight_smile:

Here’s a handy flowchart found on reddit (so it MUST be true!) for reference:

image

(Derek Hebeler) #10

Haha! I like that flowchart. That’s good to know. I just felt like perhaps the fact I was only getting about 1500 cals a day when it was suggested I eat a little over 2000 still for weight loss was perhaps freaking my body out a bit.

(Dan Dan) #11

Trust the science not the deniers :thinking:

by Dr. Jason Fung
“What the study showed is that basal metabolism drops like a piano out of the Empire State building. It plummets. They are burning about 800 calories less per day than previously. The new paper shows that this metabolic rate does not recover even 6 years later.”

(Derek Hebeler) #12

So essentially, according to this article, I’m ruining my body by cutting calories?

Lol. This is EXACTLY the problem. There’s 40 million “right” answers to any fitness or diet question. For every person that says one thing helps you lose weight, there’s another that says the exact opposite does.

Is there any way to get down to the body fat percentage I want without a food science or exercise science degree? Cuz at this point it doesn’t seem like it :disappointed:

(Doug) #13

Dan, good article.

Whoa - now that does give one pause. :worried: I really can’t argue with what happened to the ‘Biggest Loser’ contestants after six months of dieting. I contrast that with my own experience where quite a few times I’ve done calorie restriction, but for much lesser duration, the longest time would be about one week. Never felt anything bad from those. Dr. Ancel Keys’ “Minnesota Starvation Study” had them calorie-restricted for 24 weeks, I believe, so at some point the metabolism does start declining.

Nice to see the affirmation of ketogenic diets - metabolism maintained, and of fasting - after 4 days of fasting the basal metabolism was 12% higher. Sweet! :smile:

(Derek Hebeler) #14

So essentially, I need to eat almost 3000 calories a day WITH fasting to avoid a drop in my metabolism? Again, therein lies my issue. Can’t get my macros right with the 1500-2000 I’m eating now!

(Dan Dan) #15

KCKO (Keep Calm Keto On) have patience once fat adapted incorporate IF/EF (Fasting) :smiley:

(Derek Hebeler) #17

That’s another good question. What’s the difference between being in ketosis and being fat adapted? I was in ketosis a week into keto but I heard it takes up to 12 weeks to be fat adapted. How do you know when you’re fat adapted?

(Dan Dan) #18

1 lb low carb frozen mixed veggies cooked and loaded with fat
1 lb fatty meat cooked in butter/fat

some sources of fat

cheese
sour cream
cheese or cream sauce
butter
ghee
bacon
bacon nectar
schmaltz
avocados
tallow
mayo
olive oil
coconut oil

(Kameel Awdish) #19

Takes time, esp at lower BF %'s. I personally dont even look at macros, as long as carbs are kept to the bare minimum (hidden carbs) then i eat protein and fat to satiety.

(Richard Morris) #20

Everyone thinks the biggest loser contestants finished their competition and went back to not exercising and eating junk … but the data shows that they kept up their calories of exercise per kilogram WHILE gaining all their weight back. Meaning that 6 years later they were doing MORE net exercise than they were at the end of the competition. The were also restricting their food (based on their RQ), yet they had put on all that weight again, AND their metabolic rate had dropped even further.

Kevin Hall can’t explain this because his model says your metabolic rate is derived from your body weight, even tho the data doesn’t support that. So he’s invented some theory about how rapid weightloss does something magical to your metabolic rate.

The reality is their metabolic rate dropped when they calorie restricted and exercised, and it stayed low as long as they kept that up, and at the end of the process they had put on all the weight and had less lean tissue, and worse insulin resistance.

(Doug) #21

Wow, Richard, that is downright brutal. A profound lesson to be learned.