My carbs are under 20. I only eat when I’m hungry and I fast for 16-20 hours a day. I eat once or twice a day.
No snacks. Protein is good. Fats are good. Cals are still a little low.
I added an hour of walking a day nothing too rigorous: 4-5 times a week. Why isn’t my scale moving? I feel like I’m about to give up! Two months of no change.
Should I be testing for medical conditions at this point? My inches aren’t even changing! Feeling depressed and defeated.
You were told it was going to take a while to heal your metabolism after it’s been hurt by years of low-calorie yo-yo dieting. That could mean several months. And you’re still not helping it by keeping your calories low.
It’s possible you need to increase your calories. Do you feel really hungry during your fasting? I don’t believe in suffering during fasting. I found out, for me, to get through my 20 hour fast, I needed to eat more during my eating window. 2 months is too soon to throw in the towel, honestly. It took me almost a year before anything I lost weight or inches but one day it started happening after many tweaks. I trusted the process, and now I’m 3-4 lbs below my goal weight, which I NEVER dreamed would ever happen. Don’t give up. 
I don’t have enough information here to even guess, but it could be a few things:
I’ve increased them a little. I’m going to go get my rmr tested next week and talk to a physical trainer that specializes in keto. I’m hoping this helps! I’m super depressed. In the past, calorie restriction always worked for me. Cutting carbs. And poof it flew off but now it’s not the case. I’m also wondering if I should go to the doctor to see if I have any underlying medical conditions like shot adrenals etc.
Stacie, can you stick to one thread so that anyone giving you guidance can see what the backstory is? You’ve gotten so much great advice so far but it’s scattered among all the threads - isn’t this the third or fourth thread with a similar title? (and this title isn’t even accurate, because in fact you have lost weight, right? it’s just not at the rate that you think it should be?)
Please look up the SMART acronym for goals. They have to be actionable, and 30 pounds lost by xx date is not actionable. Your goals need to be around your behavior and your actions; weight loss is the result.
I would not be too happy knowing that I am just sitting their burning dietary fats despite the lower sugar diet being beneficial to your health and maintaining it long-term?
Things I would check for now just to make sure nothing else is going to impede my efforts to burn actual body fat:
Leaky gut? (bone broth fasts)
How much you weigh may determine how fast you will burn body fat?
How long you have been keto? (may want to give it more time?)
Looking at T3 levels? (if they are high it could mean leptin resistance and starving yourself will just make it worse?) On a personal note just from observing the comments on the forum for the past two or three years I am suspicious that undetected thyroid dysregulation has more to do with this than anyone wants to believe besides having an undetected simultaneous visceral fatty liver and fatty pancreas in various stages of transition; if any of this is true the more difficult it will be to burn actual body fat? …see also: I’m nearly hysterical...actually I am hysterical
I’ve been keto for a year and haven’t lost any weight or inches. But I’m maintaining and I have a healthy relationship with food for the first time in my life. And I don’t have hanger and blood sugar problems. And I’m preventing a whole host of health problems from ever occurring. Maybe this is the weight I’m supposed to be, even though my vanity would prefer to show off a bikini body. Maybe I’m missing something. I don’t measure or track macros or calories. I switch things up between omad, IF, and feeding weeks. I’m the one no one wants to hear from. But I did all the research and I believe keto is the most appropriate way for me to eat. So I keep on.
My thyroid levels were normal but maybe I need to have them do a more thorough test! This is really helpful! Thank you so much!
I might have leaky gut! I honestly suspect something is wrong. Either it’s just starvation mode or it’s an underlying condition.
I really try so very hard. It’s been three months. The weight I lost was only in the first few weeks. I’ve done fasting since day 1 and stick to 16-20 hours a day.
I track everything properly. I added walking to my daily routine.
Maybe strength training and more food and less fasting. I’m not sure if the fasting is making it impossible to get in my daily calories and therefore I’m stalling. Or if I need to see a trainer to test my rmr and add more exercise and slowly increase calories but I’m thinking this is a start and then if no progress in a few weeks to see a doctor and have all sorts of tests done.
Weight loss can be slow. It took me a year to get to where I want to be. I only had 20 pounds to lose, but it still took a year. And all my bio markers have improved.
This is an excellent point that I personally forget to talk about more often but it’s also true for me. Thanks for the reminder!
Also, I’ll add to the OP that I have a history with disordered eating and an unhealthy relationship with food. It’s soul sucking and exhausting to obsess about food and body image all of the time. Eventually I got tired of it and threw my hand up and said, fine, I’ll be fat! Guess what happened, I started losing weight. I truly believe the stress I was accumulating around every food decision was keeping the weight on. I lost weight on SAD without even trying when I just agreed stop sweating it.
I like this idea. I think everybody should know their RMR, not because I think CICO is valid, but because it gives you a baseline of how your metabolism is running. If it’s extremely low relative to normal, some thyroid testing might be in order. If it’s normal, well it’s one thing to cross off your problem list. Most importantly, if you check back in a year and it’s running higher, it means your body is really happy running on keto. Hang in there and let us know how it goes!
This really isn’t keto, Stacie. Usually, it takes several weeks to become fat-adapted. Once you are, then it’s easy to do intermittent fasting because your hunger decreases. Jumping into IF immediately is simply a calorie-restrictive diet.
You need to eat when you’re hungry, don’t eat when you’re not, and quit trying to FORCE your body into an arbitrary weight loss number. The extra walking won’t even necessarily help because it can cause more hunger and stress, which are counter-productive to weight loss.
I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you need to give this TIME. Relax, quit the “extreme” thinking, try to fuel your body and let the process work.
You look very slim in your profile pic. How much do you weigh, what’s your height, what’s your goal weight? Are your goals reasonable?
Personally I think there are 3 major actionable things for you to do.
1.) Get a FULL thyroid panel done. Not just your T3 which is what most doctors order. Watch this vid for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCS5lEBv4Q&list=PLVvpmV0CZ4yFUOEyThEx8QTzniqGuebCP
2.) Stop restricting your eating to a tiny window. Start to nourish your body again, EATTTTTTT!!!
3.) Make a decision to stop stressing and second guessing. That’s a sure track way to spike your cortisol and send your thinking into a negative spiral, and that’s counter productive to the results you want to see. You’re a baby keto-er. 2 months on keto is NOTHING. And you’re throwing a lot at it, trying to hack your success. Forget all the hacking and go back to basics! Keep your carbs under 20g net a day. Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are full. Forget literally EVERYTHING ELSE (except staying on top of your electrolytes).
You may also benefit from seeking the support of a keto/LC dietician. Feng-Yuan Liu is magnificent and last I checked she offered Skype consults so you don’t have to live in the same suburb (or country) to access her support. http://www.metrodietetics.com.au/
These are great tips! Thank you!
I’m going to consult someone for sure! Yes I know I need to eat more and I have an apt w an endocrinologist to rule out medical conditions.
I’ve always been pretty healthy and all my friends would say to me if I ate like you, I’d be 90 lbs. I’m 195 lbs and no I just have a skinny face. I don’t have a ton of body fat tho on my body but I need to lose 40 lbs so I can feel better. I don’t feel good with any excess weight on me. After 20 lbs I will feel like my work is paying off. 40 and then I will have met my goal.
I forgot to tag u on the message above! Thanks again my friend for the good advice!
I’m so glad you’re going to see someone, an endocrinologist is an awesome start and a low carb/keto dietician will benefit you enormously too.
The thing with this Keto caper is, so much of it can’t be prescribed- it must be experienced. What works for one person may not work for another. I’m not remotely kidding when I say it’s a journey. I’ve been doing this for near on 2 years now and I’m still learning what does and does not work for me. I have learned that it’s a long game, not a fast game. More than anything else I’ve learned to just be patient and not demand things from keto. They all happen in their own good time. You remind me so much of me when I started keto which gives me deeeeeep wells of empathy for how you’re feeling right now.
Your number one challenge will be allowing keto the space it needs to work for you. It’ll take time and patience, but you’ve got no end of support in this community!
I accidentally ate 10 strips of bacon, a bag of pork rinds and 4oz. Of cream cheese reading through this thread.
Chill out, eat during your window. If you’re body knows the food is available, your metabolism will crank.
You know you’re not eating enough and are expecting different results…
