Is weight loss ever too rapid?

(Rachel Sharp) #1

Hi all,

Newbie here…very excited newbie as have been doing the keto WOE for 2/3 weeks. I have a number of health issues but wanted to lose about 14-18 pounds weight too.

My question is that I’ve lost 9 pounds already. I’m not overweight BMI wise & I’m a petite female and so always preferred a lower BMI but is this too quick?

I got into ketosis quickly (ketostix) and am eating only 2 small meals a day but have satiety. Macros are 20gm carbs max, 1gm of protein per kg LBM (which I know from a dexa scan) and the rest as fat. I had a raging thirst last week which I responded to with the great guidance on here and had a few days of heavy fatigue which has just lifted and feel quite good now.

I know rapid isn’t always bad, it’s just shocked me a bit at how fast it has actually been and am worried if it’s healthy or not? Any advice very welcome. Thanks R

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

A lot of what you lost was extra water retained because of the carbs you had been eating. You may find losing the rest of the weight more of a challenge. Not only that, but some women put on lean muscle weight even while losing fat, so looking at the scale isn’t always the most reliable guide to what ketosis is doing for you. Try focusing on your dress size. If it goes down, then keto is working for you, regardless of what the scale says.

(Rachel Sharp) #3

Thanks Paul,

I’m down a dress size too but that’s good advice and a good way to measure going forwards actually. I had gained that weight over a couple of years, so I have (like many ladies no doubt) the whole range of dress sizes to try - and half of my husbands wardrobe space to accommodate it all of course :joy:

I don’t mind if it’s slower from now, just as long as it comes off eventually. R

(Mark Rhodes) #4

I cannot find it but I think Richard posted a study that was found the maximum amount of calories a pound of fat would give up per 24 hour cycle. The cap was set at 31. If this is true and I have no reason to contradict it I can only, under optimal conditions, lose a certain amount of body fat in any given week. Any loss above that is things I do not want to lose, LBM, glycogen stores in my muscles, water etc. Now this doesn’t do much to answer your question @Rae, but perhaps it can add some insight.

I fluctuate by pounds in any given week. I figure water, food, elimination issues all combine for scale numbers. Much of the research is for sugar burners and I no longer believe what a study says regarding sugar burners applies equally to us keto adapted folks. With this said I cannot tell you how rapid a fat loss is too much but from listening to others who complain of stalls the body will begin regulation of the loss and begin limiting it when it needs to.

Welcome aboard!

(Jennifer) #5

I lost 60 pounds in 6 months by eating keto and doing some extended fasting. The only downside is that it broke my hair growth cycle and I have lost a lot of hair - probably 30-40% has fallen out. Its coming back in and will be thicker and healthier than before.

Other than that, I couldn’t be happier with the results. I will KCKO…

(Rachel Sharp) #6

Thank you very much for that @marklifestyle, it’s actually very helpful! I’ll have a search around for the post. I’m going to keep any eye on it and if it doesn’t level off a bit, add some more fat in. I track calories and macros closely and they have been dropping very low as I’ve little appetite currently.

I love that there is so much science and evidence that this works. Definitely found my place :blush:

(Mark Rhodes) #7

Here is a link to the link but this is so much more interesting and has the nifty calculator.

(Rachel Sharp) #8

Wow, what an amazing loss @birddog27. Well done I bet you’re so pleased!

You might be surprised to hear that I previously had a gastric band fitted. Such was my struggle with my weight since an early age. I lost 84 pounds and had it in for 8 years but became malnourished when I stopped being able to swallow anything vaguely dense in texture - how bad is that!!

So I chose to have it removed and be very vigilant with my food. I didn’t regain all my weight like the Dr said I would but 14 pounds has gradually crept on over 3 years.

I was starting to associate this gain with carbs, which I didn’t eat much of when I had the band and this clearly is how I managed to keep my weight down but I always tried low fat, plant based WOE to manage it when the band came out… it wasn’t working for me obviously as the pounds kept coming but it looks like this may. It’s just stopped all my cravings totally, how amazing - so happy! R

(Rachel Sharp) #9

That’s me occupied for the evening, thanks @marklifestyle!

(Mark Rhodes) #10

One more, similar:

I have also just posted a question regarding if it can be deduced if a fat gain upper threshold is known? I do not have an answer for that.

Enjoy your night reading!!

(KCKO, KCFO) #11

Just adding, I didn’t lose as fast as you, but I have noticed changes in my hair. I lost @35 lbs in 9 months. I have lost about 10% of my hair, no one notices because I have extremely thick hair. But hair loss is due to energy keeping the essentials going on whatever fuel you give it. So I am good with this side effect. Just about the only negative I have experienced since going Keto/LCHF.

(Rachel Sharp) #12

Interesting @collaroygal. I lost hair like that with my gastric band and so I’m quite sure it’s not keto specific. The Bariatric team used to tell me to take zinc supplements and make sure I was meeting my protein requirements but I don’t think either really made any difference. I always thought it was about how your body prioritised functions when losing but I’m no expert.

Thanks for the reply too, in fact to all of you, you have all made me feel very welcome.

(KCKO, KCFO) #13

Correct, not just with Keto, any low calorie diet, can result in hair loss. It is one of the reasons they tell us not to go below 1200 calories when dieting. And on one level that is sound advice.

From the reading I have done, it’s just going to happen because the body can not do it all, all the time with extremely low calories. Hair growth is not a high priority for your body’s energy, regulating heart, maintaining muscles, and the other organs come way before hair. I didn’t start losing hair until I added IF and extended fasts. Again, I have enough hair that those extra stands in the tub etc are worth it. Besides just the last couple of days, I have had an itchy-ish scalp. Upon examination, it is the hair regrowing in. So just keep calm everyone and remember, life is good.