I have been doing a Keto and then Ketovore diet for about 5 years now. When I went higher fat I gained 2 pounds and kept at that weight for a year or so, then dropped 2 pounds finally. I only had about 10 to 15 lbs to lose, but I had a big belly and back and knee pain, also rosacea. I have always had very low energy, but the pains and rosacea went away and my shape changed for the better, I also have more energy than I’ve ever had since I can remember, so I wasn’t terribly concerned with weight. What the problem is now is that last year I suddenly lost 5 lbs and was really happy with that, then last December I started gaining weight. I haven’t changed anything with my diet and I am very strict with it, but I have put on a total of 10 lbs and am panicking! I don’t know why this is happening and it has me very concerned. I weigh more than I have since I was pregnant, which was over 30 years ago! I am 66.
If anyone has had this experience or has any advise I would appreciate it so much.
Thank you!
I'm suddenly struggling!
Are you tracking what you eat? Are you active or do you workout? If you’re sedentary and not doing much in the way of burning cals, or trying to maintain muscle, then you can expect your metabolic rate to drop over time, and when that happens what used to maintain you, will add weight to you.
Thanks, I don’t work out, but I keep active working and staying on my feet, but I know I should work out. I just can’t figure out why this has happened so suddenly! It could be stress I guess, but I try to keep that under control and get good sleep.
thanks for the reminder though, I’m trying to sprint now at least, i’ll see if that helps!
During the covid period, I gained 10 lbs. but once I was comfortable going about my normal routines, I lost it fairly quickly. I was still able to wear all my clothes and didn’t really look 10 lbs. heavier according to my hubby. But once my stress was reduced the weight came off. I had not changed my keto eating style through any of it. It isn’t the first time I gained due to nothing more than stress in my life, it can impact some of us very deeply.
Not this exact experience, but I am finding that as I have passed 60, my body is aging more rapidly, and I simply have to adapt to it. This last winter I did not do keto, but did IF on M,W, & F, and was reasonably low carb except after my protein smoothies… I actually used a cheap sweetener in my smoothies with stevia on maltodextrin to give my insulin an extra boost to try to maximize protein synthesis and push creatine, etc into the muscles. Over 3 months I gained 15 pounds! - a feat I have never achieved in my whole life! Unfortunately my smart scale said only about 6 pounds of that was muscle.
One thing I believe you can do to counter the old age blues is to encourage the production of brown fat. In the winter I now keep the house in the 60s which encourages the mitochondria in fat to multiply and create more heat. You can achieve the same by taking cold swims for an hour or so daily. You can also lower your sat fat intake. When I stopped using coconut milk as the base for my protein smoothies, I stopped gaining weight…
Lately, I am finding my innate immune system has ramped up. This means my body is reacting more to things I have normally eaten, etc, and now I believe some inflammation was stopping my weight loss until I figured this out, and stopped eating dairy… all dairy… Which I don’t like, but am finding necessary. Since doing that I have lost another 2 pounds.
Thank you SO much for sharing this information! I will try ramping down my dairy intake, like you, that will be hard, but I’m willing to try anything to stop this progression. I was already 60 when I started, but I know what you mean, after 60 everything changes!
Thanks again, I don’t feel so alone!
My husband was gaining as well, that makes me think maybe stress has a role too, but his came right off, no fair! I think it’s a bit easier for men, at least my husband. He gets into ketosis so easily and I am much more strict but it seems like when I test my blood I’m rarely in ketosis. It doesn’t make sense to me.
Thank you for that, we have been under quite a bit of stress from a family issue, so my husband keeps thinking that’s my issue. He says I get too worked up, but at this age I can’t seem to stop being what I’ve always been, a worrywort I guess.
Stress does play a role, as does sleep. My wife and I (mainly my wife and I’m doing less) are trying Maria Emmerich’s PSMF (protein-sparing modified fasting) plan, which also cuts out dairy. I’m also reading a book by Dr. Georgia Ede for low carb and mental health, and she recommends no dairy.
The other thing to do is try some higher protein, lower fat. And if you can eat very few calories, PSMF days (low calorie, high protein for 1-2 days a week). (Maria’s plan is more higher fat, lower calorie every day, with some even higher protein, lower fat days thrown in.)
great advice, thank you, I saw her book but wasn’t sure what all that is about. (her cookbook that is) I’ll start looking into that, thanks!
OK, well the PSMF cookbook is not great. Too small. My wife paid for a month of her PSMF challenge (or something like that). My wife downloaded the materials, printed them out, and put them in a binder. This is better.
One idea I found helpful is that you make a recipe that has 4 servings. Then, day 1 for lunch, you eat 2 servings; day 2 for lunch or dinner you eat 1 serving; day 3 for lunch or dinner, you eat the last serving. She does this a lot, and once you get used to it, it’s easy to follow. You typically combine 2 servings on one recipe with 1 serving from another recipe.
She adjusts the calories and fat on a near-daily basis.
Warning: she uses a lot of egg whites, so if you’re allergic to eggs, there will be some things you can’t eat. Warning 2: it’s dairy free and quite low in fat, so she uses almond milk a lot. If you are or think you might have problems with oxalates, it might not be great. You can substitute coconut “milk” (or whatever the boxed stuff is called; not the canned stuff), but it does add some fat and calories. Personally, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but my wife wanted the almond milk to keep to the plan.
Thanks again! I’ll look into the challenge. Tell your wife I’m rooting for her! I did lose a couple of pounds in the last couple of days, I have no idea how except I have been eating more eggs. It frustrating not knowing exactly what’s going on, but I have several ideas to try now at least!
I think you will never know exactly. Could be stress, could be more movement is needed, could be inflammation, could be something you are eating that you react to that other people do not. Finally it could be set point theory. Meaning, your body was comfortable at a particular weight and will do anything to get back to it. Mine did that a couple of years after I lost weight. I have forced it back down to the stall point but I am sure it wants to regain.
While I do think you need basic movement, I definitely gained more weight more easily during the house bound part of Covid, but I just came back from a trip where I was walking more than 15,000 steps every day. Some was uphill, I ended up needing to buy new sneakers! I normally have under 6,000 even on days I play tennis. I ate more than usual but not much more. I gained about 8 lbs. You cannot out run a bad diet so I do not think the exercise will make much difference. I think there are many reasons to exercise. Part of the reason I enjoy tennis is because for those two hours I am focusing on hitting a ball and very little else. Muscle use is important and cardio fitness is important but none of those really matter for losing weight unless you are on a swim team or training for a triathalon
As for dairy, some people have a problem, other don’t. Give it up for a month and see what happens. Same with wheat, oxalates and other potential reactants. I find not eating after 5 or 6 helps me a lot. I will if it is a semi special occasion but not on an ordinary Tuesday
Thank you Saphire, I appreciate your thoughts. I am feeling better simply knowing others have had a similar experience. I eat basically meat and eggs, butter and bacon fat and try to stay away from veggies and fruit, I love this way of eating, I don’t miss the sweets anymore at all, so I don’t worry about what I’m eating and that’s why I was so concerned.