I lost 30lbs then gain 8lbs in 5 days while on Keto. NEED HELP

#1

Hey. I started Keto about 2 months ago. Amazing results for the first month I went from 356lbs - 338lbs. Lost 18 pounds. I did cheat over my birthday about a month but got back on track and got down to 326 last week about 2 months in. After changing nothing, not cheating I have now gained 8 pounds in 5 days… no idea how. During those days I’ve been IF until 1pm and being done eating be 8. And I even did an accidental 24 hour fast…

My typical day eating is

Around 1pm I’ll have my first meal

Lunch.
1 cup of Brussel sprouts/ Broccoli cooked in a bunch of oil with cheese on top
3 eggs with avacado
Some nuts

I don’t snack.

Dinner.
A salad of some sort with
Cheese, sun flower seeds, ranch, avacado so on
A protien of some sort.

Sometimes I have some Keto chocolate that is made with coconut oil, almond butter and coco powder.

All in all I typically don’t hit the number of calories I’m supposed to eat.

I am really confused at what to do next. No desire to quit because this time, I NEED to get healthy.

Any help is appreciated.

#2

Some fluctuation is definitely normal, though 8 pounds points to some kind of inflammation or reaction. The good news is you really can’t put on 8 pounds of fat in 5 days. The not-great news is that maybe you’re reacting to something you’re eating? Many folks have problems with dairy, and some have trouble with nuts.
I know it doesn’t make sense since it sounds like you’ve been eating those for a while, but that’s one possibility. Another is that for different reasons - fighting off a cold, new exercise protocol, some kind of stress - you’re retaining some water and it will resolve soon.
Overall it sounds like you’re doing well! I wouldn’t panic, just see what suggestions come up, tweak as needed based on the advice, and keto on.

(Running from stupidity) #3

That looks like you’re not eating many calories, which is contraindicated for weight loss.

Are you tracking your food intake?

(Robert C) #4

You might be dealing with a bad scale or just imperfect usage. Bathroom scales are usually rated up to 400 lbs. so you are near that limit. A spring scale that may be very accurate in it’s mid-range of 150 to 250 lbs. may get a little less accurate when the spring is tightened up near the end of the range. Digital scales may bend/flex to mess up their accuracy at higher weights.

Also, moving the scale and trying to put it back into the exact location (rarely possible) can cause differences. An even slight give in the floor (even the thinnest carpet as well as linoleum or wood) can make differences - especially if you are not standing on the exact same spot on the scale - a inch back or forward or more to one side from the last measurement would make a difference. Same with a slight slant to the floor.

At your weight - an 8 pound difference is only a little over 2 percent difference - easily explained away by one of the above measurement issues.

Weighing yourself regularly would really help - then any values that seem suspect (much higher without cheating or much lower even after cheating) can be ignored because the next few values will probably fall back in line.

The bottom line is that making big changes (suddenly cutting calories - redoubling IF efforts - dropping your favorite Keto chocolate snack) based on the highest/lowest measurements probably is not a good idea.

For example - maybe your first measurement was 8 pounds off and you really started at 348 - so your first month was 10 pounds down - so you might have been losing weight at half the rate you thought - making your overall 22 pound loss in two months seem very reasonable.
Maybe your last measurement was 8 pounds off and you were really 334. In that case, in 5 days you were really just sitting on a plateau.

#5

Thanks for your response. I actually was fighting a cold the week that I gained all of the weight, so that could have been a contributing factor. It took me almost 4 weeks to lose the 8 pounds again. I’m back to where I was, but can’t get past 326.

I’m considering cutting dairy to see what happens, but I am struggling with the idea because I don’t know what to cook, and if I can even eat a salad without cheese…

#6

Thanks for your response. I really don’t think the scale is the problem because I weight myself every day, and it has seemed really consistent in general. I finally have lost the 8 pounds I put back on based on my scale. It is peculiar to me that I cannot get past 326.4. It has been a plateau for me… I think it could be attributed to the fact that I have been around 315-330 for about 3 years before jumping up to 360 or so about a year ago.

#7

I really haven’t been tracking my foot intake because the first few days that I did, I was right on my macros and I just stuck with that plan. Also, I haven’t been getting as hungry, so my meals have been smaller and sometimes I haven’t been finishing them. I am very confused how eating less would make me gain weight

(Carl Keller) #8

Small setback on a longjourneyahead.

If it holds true, remind yourself how much better you feel, how much energy you have and how much more positive about yourself you are since you started doing Keto.