Hi! My boyfriend and I started keto about two weeks ago. He has lost 6 lbs and I am still at my starting weight. I realize that because I am a woman it may take longer for my body to respond and that I must be patient but when I’m just looking to see that this is a normal body response. I get discouraged when I speak to others and they tell me “the weight just fell off”. I am just looking to see if anyone else has experienced this and if there are any reccomendations. Thank you!
Is this Typical?
Stabla
(Stacy Blanchard)
#2
The scale messes with my head in a big weigh. See what I did there. Haha
But truly it does so my advice is to stay off the scale and focus on how you feel, how clothes are fitting or learning more about making LCHF even more nutritious. The scale only registers loss; victories are about gains. Reframe your outlook.
J_A-M
(Jay AM)
#3
I’m not sure how you’re doing keto so, I’ll leave my general recommendations below for you to look at and see if there is anything you might be missing. How is your electrolyte intake? And yeah, as a woman, you’ll never lose as fast as your counterpart. If you are particularly overweight and have or are at risk for PCOS, you’ll also see much slower losses. If you need to lose less than 30-50 lbs then you’ll see slower loss. Women do tend to see a change in clothing and inches before a change in the scale. But, if you are under 20g a day in carbs and eating enough calories and fat with moderate protein, you’re in ketosis and already doing well.
We have a few sayings here, “keep calm, keto on” and “trust the process.” Keto isn’t a quick weight loss diet. It’s a health gaining way of eating with fat loss as a side effect. If the scale is an unhealthy obsession, put it away for a couple of months or give it to a neighbor you don’t like.
There are two phases to ketosis and a ketogenic lifestyle.
Nutritional ketosis is phase one. Your body begins to produce and uptake some ketones while dumping the rest. It will still search for glucose to use as fuel. In this phase it’s not an efficient process. It has to work actively to get rid of stored glycogen, clean up excess blood sugar, and turn on the ability to use ketones.
Fat adaptation is phase two. Your body is efficiently producing ketones from intake and stored body fat and is also using them efficiently for energy. It takes around 6-8 weeks of strict keto to achieve for many but not all.
The basic “rules” I go by and many others can agree with especially for beginners are:
*20g net carbs max (you might tolerate more but, starting out, 20g net carbs or less will get you into ketosis.)
*Moderate protein (1g-1.5g per kg of lean bodyweight is a good goal based on the 2 Dudes recommendations.)
*Fat to satiety (add fat to every meal and, if you are hungry, eat more fat. Don’t be afraid of fat. It is energy.)
*Do not restrict calories
*Do not exercise excessively in an effort to lose weight
*Drink plenty of water
*Get plenty of sodium and other electrolytes
buffy
#4
Hi Michaela
Many women on this site share your frustration: patience is key! Your body is healing in other ways which you can’t visually see on the scales yet, but it will happen. I recommend you read the non scale victories topic for lots of encouraging inspiration.
I’m into my 11th week on keto and can tell you that I lost nothing in the first couple of weeks but then 2kgs dropped off . In total I’ve lost 8kgs to date; so slow but steady ( and have found that the MORE I eat the better weight loss I experience). Check your macros and drink loads of water. Mentally I’ve never felt better; this kicked in for me at week 6. Good luck with your journey 
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#7
In one of his LCDU lectures on YouTube, Dr. Phinney describes a study participant who was really annoyed that she only lost 20 lbs., when all the other women in the study had lost 40. When they compared the before and after DEXA scans, it turned out that she had indeed lost 40 lbs. of fat—but she had put on 20 lbs. of lean muscle. Dr. Phinney’s hypothesis is that when women who have habitually restricted their calorie intake for a long time finally give their bodies enough resources, the body takes advantage of them to heal and grow. He advises his women patients to ignore the scale and go by what’s happening to their dress size. Since lean tissue is a lot denser than fat tissue, it is possible to add lean tissue and still grow thinner. So don’t let your scale mess with your head. 
LeCheffre
(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman )
#8
Very typical.
I believe the saying is men lose pounds and women lose inches. Track your measurements.