Hello, I am new to this site and have been asking this question every where and no one ever answers me. I have started this WOE on March 1st of 2018 and I have lost just shy of 20 pounds and to give you an idea I started off at 164 and I am now 145 at 5’3 I still need to lose more! I have stopped losing inches and my weight has stopped dropping. It jumps up and down a lot. I am not sure what to change or, maybe not change anything at all and just let my body adjust? I eat 75% fat 20% protein and 5% carbs which is pretty standard. I usually hit this macros pretty close. I eat right about 1250 calories a day and drink a lot of water. Im not sure what Im doing wrong? HELP PLEASE! I just want to lose the rest of the weight and stop feeling like the chubby girl I always have…
I need help, please
If I were to guess I would say that your calorie intake is too low and has lowered your metabolism. With your stats you should be approx 1650 calories a day. This is a common mistake people make just starting (speaking from experience).
It might help also to list a days meals to see if we see any hidden carbs or such that you are missing.
This is also very informative -
There is a saying we use a lot and that is “Keep calm and keto on”. 20 lbs in 2.5 months is awesome. There is so much more to eating keto than weight loss. There may be a lot of underlying metabolic and/or hormonal issues that your body is working hard to fix so that is what is being prioritized right now. Also, women have a lot more going on hormonally than men so our weight can fluctuate up or down on a day to day basis (yay women!) You may not be doing anything wrong but we may be able to give you some suggestions or advice on things you can tweak if you give us a few days of the actual foods you are eating.
Thank you for responding! I just plugged my numbers into a calculator and that is what they gave me! Maybe I will try eating a week of higher calories and see what happens, I actually track everything I eat But I can try and get a sample of days worth of food.
You might eat just above your calorie suggestions and ramp up that metabolism a little to get things going again.
Here is what one day or a typical day looks like mind you the 29 was total carbs and i actually had 12 grams of fiber that day.
hopefully that works, sorry that it is kind of hard to read.
20 pounds is amazing. Are you active? Sometimes a lot of weight comes off at first and then nothing. I have not been doing it as long as you, but I am starting a dairy free month starting tomorrow. I am a cheese binger!
"I am not sure what to change or, maybe not change anything at all and just let my body adjust?"
Hi @Abbie_Moyer!
You might consider that instead, your body has already adjusted and is pretty much happy with the amount of food coming in and fat stores (for backup) it is maintaining.
You do not mention how long the weight loss has stalled but, since you have been asking about it and waiting, I assume it has been at least a week or two.
One thing to think about might be fasting to break the plateau.
@mtncntrykid might be right.
Get your calories up a little higher on solid keto macros to get your metabolism used to burning 1600 or 1700 calories per day (your body might not be so concerned about keeping backup body fat with the extra calories coming in).
Then throw in a day or two of fasting each week (water and coffee or tea only) - your body will want those 1600 or 1700 calories and if you have been doing keto well for a while, your body will simply burn its own fat to get it.
Or, do a 5-day fast to quickly drop 3 or 4 pounds (after water weight fluctuations).
These seem to be safe maneuvers but, if you are being unrealistic and trying to get down to an unsustainable weight - your body will let you know (if you are willing to listen).
Abbie,
Are you fat adapted? It took me until the 10th week in before I new that I was. They say that you just know and it was true for me. In the coarse of 2 days everything just “seemed to fall in place”. Don’t know how else to describe it.
Until the body becomes efficient at utilizing fat for fuel it feeds on glucose and protein first. If you restrict these (as you were doing) the body will slow the rate of metabolization of these in an effort to save for the future. This will slow weight loss that you were experiencing before hand.
Once you are adapted and the body no longer looks for glucose from the carbs and protein, it goes directly to the fat cells and doesn’t even look at the other fuel source. This is when you can keep your fat consumption lower, the amount your body requires to function daily because it will to the fats that you are storing and wanting to get rid of.
Thank you for the advice! I actually am intermittent fasting daily have been since the beginning of my second month! Maybe I will have to try that! I think your right in that my body has gotten used to my current calorie intake! I’m not actually at a full stall with the scale just the inches… my weight fluctuates up and down a lot.
Yes I think so, I feel like over the past few week I have just felt really amazing and like you said everything just kind of feels right! But I fear that with not a whole of lot weight left to lose my body is holding on!
No daily workout or anything! A few walks here and there! I love cheese way too much but I don’t actually eat that much of it!
Like Rob said, your body might just want to be where it is at.
I would suggest eating a little heavy (up the fat mostly) and get your metabolism up then maybe a full 24 or 36 hour fast to change things up. Then a couple days of normal macro’s and see where your at. You might be able to cut a little after that. For me it has worked best to ramp up some then fast, ramp up again and OMAD for a few days, ramp up again and another fast.
Keep us posted. 
Okay thank you so much again for the help I am gonna try that this week
One thought I’ve been having while perusing these forums is that Keto really seems to lend itself to body recomposition. You hold onto muscle so much more efficiently when you’re fat adapted and eating in a ketogenic fashion. Perhaps hitting a stall like this while not doing any significant exercise is an opportunity to begin exercising seriously. It would both introduce a caloric deficit and provide stimulus for muscle growth without necessitating any change in diet.
Seconding what everyone else said.
- Your loss in such a short amount of time is AMAZING! Keep doing what you are doing.
- Your calories seem very low.
- I had two DEXA scans (6 weeks) apart this winter/spring and learned that what I thought was a 9 lb weight loss was actually a 12 lb fat loss and 3 lb lean muscle gain. I don’t lift weights–so this is not due to strength training. It’s all keto and IF. So, the scale might not be giving you the full picture about what is up with your body.
- Consider a 36 hour fast every week. It will boost your human growth hormone and raise your metabolism.
- It can take several months for all of the mitochondria in your cells to get fully on board with switching to fat as their primary fuel source. There’s a good chance that you are right in the middle of that and just need to be patient. Your stall might last longer, but it won’t be forever.
- You don’t have a lot of weight to lose, so your rate of loss will be much slower now. Expect it and celebrate the NSVs, how amazing you feel, and your freedom from the standard American diet.
same here… I only have 10 pounds to loose and my weight has been going up and down…
I’m trying to up my calories and has started to slowly loose again…
