I'm losing weight again after a 1.5 year stall

(Dom DePlume) #61

Thanks for this, Carl. I’ll be interested to know how well this works for you over time. I’ve been flat-lined for about 3mo since losing my freshman 30 in about 9 weeks. I’ve been suspecting too high a protein-to-fat ratio is the culprit. What I want to know is: WHAT ARE YOUR MEALS LOOKING LIKE. I think it would be a SERIOUS aide to people to hear amounts, portion sizes, etc. Some of us really have a hard time figuring out how to get that much fat into a meal, even eating OMAD. Maybe do some good tracking and scale reporting over time. If this works like you’re experiencing, is do-able over time, and sustainable, this may be a big help to many (but with your proper disclaimer of YMMV).

Keto on in satiety, brother…

(Ellen Ellis) #62

This is as close as I have found to my own dilemma. I have been told to never go below 1200 calories but since eating keto I am often full at 900 and have a hard time eating enough food to reach 1200.
I have never had a big appetite but poor food choices caused almost 50 lbs of overweight. I have lose almost 20 of those pounds on keto but often feel “stuffed” rather than satiated. Now I’m gonna try just eating till I am full and see if the weight loss continues.

(CJ Young) #63

Thanks Carl, I’ve been stalled a couple of months although not too worried about it because I’m SO HEALTHY!!! Which is amazing and what really matters. But I’ll have to think about maybe tightening up my routine and getting serious about intermittent fasting. Thanks for continuing to be so open about all of your n=1 work.

(carl) #64

Wow! Great job.

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #65

Thanks Carl, but unfortunately the drop was short lived. Without changing anything, I started gaining about a month after that change and I’m still gaining as of now. I can’t figure out for the life of my why…

Did you continue your downwards trend at least?

Edit (10 Sept 2018): I’ll throw in an edit here since I didn’t know Carl was going to use my post in the podcast (what a nice surprise!) and I’d hate for anyone to be discouraged if they see that I’ve been slowly gaining…

Even though I’m gaining a little, my clothes are still getting looser. I think I may have worked out a correlation to the weight gain and that’s the vastly increased exercise I started around the same time. As Carl mentioned for his story, the highly fatty OMAD was not sustainable for more than a few weeks (for me at least). It just got too boring.

It is interesting however, to note that an almost 100% fat OMAD shift produced a step-change in my weight setpoint after being stalled for so long. I’ll look at it as a tool to add to my keto tool box. KCKO it is!

#66

This is kind of you to update and edit your post! I, for one, came just to this thread after listening to your ‘maaaaaaail’ on the podcast :sunglasses: It is helpful to know this hack may be a good intervention, but may not be a long-term kind of choice. Keto is very forgiving that way, eh? Mixing it up, going back to KISS, mix again, and all good health outcomes. Best of everything to you, my keto friend. And thanks again for posting the edited update!

(A ham loving ham! - VA6KD) #67

Thanks - I think it’s important to maintain a high-level outlook and not get all caught up in the details. I’ll treat the fatty OMAD as an occasional intervention.

Keto is super forgiving and there are sooooo very many other benefits other than weight loss to enjoy. I also now understand that fat loss and weight loss can be two entirely separate things. :smile:

(Central Florida Bob ) #68

I’m going to update this - I posted back in April. I finally broke my 1-1/2 year stall by going to alternate day fasting. I started back in June, and now am in week 12 of fasting 3 days/week and eating 4. My fasts are usually 42 hours.

Back on April 1, I had said, “I’m 6’ and 210, +/- 2. (64yo male) I’d really like to push that under 200. I think the least I’ve weighed in my adult life was around 190-195.”

OMAD didn’t do it. I never tried eating nothing but pork belly like @carl did, but it’s the first time I’ve seen the scale move in the right direction since 2016. Now my weight is staying around 200. It has slowed, so I’m naturally trying to figure what I can do to speed it up and get to maybe 190.

I have two measurements of % body fat. I have reasons not to trust either of them, but haven’t found a place that does a DEXA scan locally. The average of the two I have is 26% BF, which tells me 190 ought to be pretty doable. My body doesn’t seem to believe that.

(Janelle) #69

Good for you! Do you feel like you were doing actual keto when you were stalled? I doesn’t sound like one can loosen up and then just fix it with IF.

(Jane Reed) #70

I’m in the middle of a 1 1/2 year stall as well. I recently did a 2 1/2 day fast and of course dropped a few pounds. I suspect the occasional fast will do me some good, but I don’t like to fast, as I enjoy my food too much. (Reader thinks ""what is she, 5 years old?)

I admitted it, I’m a baby. But I think a 24 hour fast a couple times a month is doable.

#71

It is so weird but I was stalling and actually gained 7 pounds since I started keto .
so I upped my protein and lowered my fat since I’m so close to my goal weight, Not a lot of body fat extra…not a skinny skinny either. I just wasn’t losing weight on the higher fat. I’m doing a higher protein about 90 g A-day and it’s knocking the weight off the …5 pounds( took off 5 lbs in 5 days) I had to lose.
I know it’s healthier to do the macro ratio that you all recommend however like I said I was on a plateau with that so wonder what’s up with my body? I will be done with this high protein as soon as I lose 2 more pounds and then back on a regular keto plan, because I feel so good on it. I’m actually feeling really good with what I’m doing as well. For thin women that want to stay thin what are you guys all recommend?
Don’t judge me I’m not a diabetic, That as far as health goes… I like to feel good and stay fit and Keto seems to really add to that program.
The high protein no carb no sugar low fat that I’m doing is not sustainable because I’m gonna be craving way more variety like cheese and cream that have fat in them and the science of it is so much more reasonable.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #72

As long as you are eating an equal weight of protein and fat, Dr. Naiman will be happy with you. And Prof. Bikman would like to see you eating 2 grams of protein a day per kilo of lean body mass. So there’s plenty of room for what you are doing.

By the way, equal protein and fat by weight is 30% of calories as protein and 70% as fat.

#73

However that is not what I’m doing I’m actually eating like 10% fat and 70% protein because I’m not losing weight doing high fat since I’m already pretty lean as a person. Maybe I’m just not giving it enough time.

Excuse my pile of dead fairies
#74

If you’re already pretty lean, 10% seems waaaaay too low for a leaner person as your body needs to be fueled by fat in order to draw on the body’s own fat stores! Many leaner folks around here eat closer to 30-50% fat with steady results (rather than the typical 60-70% fat). I think variability - a degree of randomness - may be the critical thing to look at to keep the metabolism agile. Have days where you eat fat in your morning tea/coffee + 2-3 meals and get to the 30-50% place, and days where you have a small eating window time and no added fat beyond the fat in the morning beverage and in food and in cooking. Megan Ramos of IDM talks often of the importance of following any fasting with feasting to the point of stabilizing the body so it’s ready to change again.

Fat-wise, the medium chain triglycerides (such as found in coconut oil) boost the metabolism and fuel fat burning, ironically.

If you check out the work of keto-paleo nutritionist Nora Gelgaudus, the book Primal Body Primal Mind, she explains how fat is critical for fueling the mitochondrial metabolic power and digestive nutrient assimilation that builds muscle and bone. Not enough fat can create a bunch of problems on a cellular level.

90grams of protein isn’t high protein per se, and it may be needed for even small stature/lean folks who were protein deficient for years and/or are strength training (for more on that, see the book by LCHF/keto physicians the Drs Eades, called Protein Power!) Personally my first nine months of keto I aimed for 25-30g protein per meal at three meals a day and less on IF days. Now that I’ve had so much keto restoration of my brain & body and I’m not currently strength training, I do well with eating less protein, more like 45-60g day at my age of 52.

(mags) #75

I couldn’t agree more with this. I’ve had significant improvements with weight loss when I feast and fast. It really is important to keep changing it up as Megan Ramos says. Maybe once a week I will have a really fatty food day and pack in 4000 + calories. Other times I will fast for 2 or 3 days. Sometimes I will OMAD. Keep changing what you do to keep your metabolism high. Today is a feast day :grin:

#76

Thank you this was really informative I appreciate it!

#77

You’re very welcome TeeCee!

(carl) #78

Update. Using my CGM I learned that either cheese and cream or green leafy veggies were the real culprit. I don’t have to eat pork belly every day to lose weight. I have cut both of those out and the scale is moving again. Oh, and I’m scarfing down liver pate. Life is good.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #79

I vote for the veggies’ being the culprit. Just 'cause. :grin:

(carl) #80

I actually think it’s the cheese. I have been doing no veggies with cheese and cream for enough time to know that veggies aren’t as much of a problem…

Everyone is different. The key is you have to do your own n=1 experiments.