Keto confusion! Is IF for maintenance?

(Gretchen Johnson) #1

I started Keto on December 10th at 158.8, and am down to 144.4 (14.4 pounds lost). The scale has stopped moving, and it seems as if I stalled, and my body wants to stay here…it’s mistaken- I have plenty of fat to lose!

I have been doing IF - typically 20 or 24 hours and I LOVE it!!! In the past, I could never go even a couple hours without eating. I feel so free and, well, healthy! I let my body tell me what to do. Typically I do a version of that IF plan Monday- Friday, and Saturday and Sunday are more normal meals with family (still Keto of course). I had listened to a podcast where Megan Ramos said that regular IF was more for maintenance, and extended fasting is where you see the most results (3 days was what she mentioned). She also mentioned that changing up your days with higher calories was good so your metabolism wouldn’t slow down due to fasting IF days. I’ve also read Jason Fung’s fasting book, but metabolism is still confusing to me with how this all works.

Also, my longest fast was 36 hours, and I felt a bit jittery and stopped at that point.

Sooooo… any thoughts?

(Missy) #2

Have you recalculated your macros since losing 15 lbs?

(Olivia) #3

This is perfectly normal.
Firstly, how long have you been stalling and is there no movement or is your drop in weight slower compared to your expectation. 1-2 weeks no weight change is perfectly normal and can be caused by so many things such as water retention or bloating. Especially, women see an effect of their menstrual cycle on weight loss.
With 3-4 weeks no weight change, you can consider changing it up a little. Sometimes it’s just tiny changes, which have a big impact. I shifted my window to an earlier dinner based on Rhonda Patrick’s recommendations on time restricted eating and made sure I was finished eating at least 4 hours before bed. (She explains that our insulin sensitivity decreases during the day and is the highest in the morning and the lowest in the evening. Ergo, late night eating is not optimal). BOOM! That small shift broke my stall and I have been steadily losing weight for the past 4-5 weeks.
Additionally, something to consider, as you lose weight your bodies requirements for energy naturally diminish. Your metabolic rate scales with your weight. The heavier you are the higher your metabolic rate. So as already mentioned, you might want to track your macronutrients and kcal just to see if your actually eating at a minor deficit (below your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and 200 kcal above your basal metabolic rate (BMR)). I included a link to a nifty calculator to get those numbers.
http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

(Dan Dan) #4

Here are three of my favorite :smile:

The Perfect Intermittent Fasting Ratio for the Most Weight Loss (Fat Burning)

The Complete Guide to Fasting: How To Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and…

Therapeutic Fasting - Dr Jason Fung

kCKO (Keep Calm Keto On)

“May the Force (fat adaption) be with you”

IF/EF Keto WOE is Self-Discovery :wink:

Good luck and much success in your journey in IF/EF Keto WOE :grin:

(Alan Williamson) #5

For myself, if I eat 3 meals a day, I will gain back 10-20 pounds. To stay lean, I have to fast for 36 hours a couple days a week. OMAD works good too. The key is to keep insulin level low. No sugar, no grains, lots of pork belly…FTW!

(Gretchen Johnson) #6

Yes, I have, and this is what I have been somewhat doing. I haven’t been tracking as much as I used to. This could be the problem also. From what I have read, we shouldn’t try to get all of our daily calories in when doing IF, and then on more of our eating days, we eat until satiated. Maybe this is part of my issue?

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(Missy) #7

Ahh, for me, I too hit a stall for about a month when I stopped tracking macros and was instead “eyeballing” what I thought was the right amount of what i should be eating. As soon as I started tracking again, my stall broke. It’s crazy how a little of a thing can throw you off.

(Gretchen Johnson) #8

Alan - If you do OMAD, how many calories do you take in for that one meal? Do you feel fasting has slowed down your metabolism, and you need to fast now? Sorry for all of the questions, but this topic still doesn’t make total sense to me. I have a fear that my metabolism will slow down to the point that my calorie requirements are super low.

(Roy D) #9

A few suggestions/recommendations;

  1. Examine the number of calories you are consuming when not IF’ing. Even on a keto diet, it is still possible to gain weight if consuming an excessive number of calories. Also, on non-IF days, it is not uncommon to consume an excess amount of calories (aka overeat).
  2. Re-examine the amount of carbs you are consuming. Typically the maximum amount of carbs to be consumed in a day is 20 grams. It is not uncommon after starting a keto diet (and seeing success) to encounter “carb creep”, where the amount of carbs unknowingly creep up.
  3. Sometimes it’s not uncommon for weight to plateau. One way to tell if you continue to make progress is to make comparative body measurements. (People “baseline” body measurements (i.e. waist, chest, arm, thigh measurements) when starting the diet, and compare measurements on a weekly basis.) The body measurements can change while the weight remains the same.
  4. The latest “2 Keto Dudes” podcast (What We Got Wrong) also has a discussion on the subject of weight plateau

Good advice is to continue on with the diet (aka KCKO)

#10

Metabolism isn’t a feeling, it’s a fact. And facts are testable. In the Complete Guide to Fasting, Dr Fung quotes studies that show metabolism isn’t slowed during fasting. He explains that it’s because of increases and decreases of specific hormones. That’s the science, but if that’s not enough for you (it wasn’t for me) because all that really matters is what’s true for your body, then get tested.

Determining RMR is a quick and easy test. While sitting in a chair wearing a face mask, the gas exhaled is analyzed. The report generated not only provides RMR but can also determine RQ, the degree the body is using fat vs sugar for fuel.

In my area, this test can be obtained for ~$100. Usually at the same places where they do VO2 testing. It’s available at universities with fitness labs, medical facilities, weight loss clinics and centers that cater to athletes.

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(Alan Williamson) #11

For myself, it is insulin. If I eat 3 meals a day, insulin will be elevated for many hours. My body weight just increases. For OMAD, I eat to I am full. I don’t count calories. If I ate the same calories over 3 meals, it makes things worse.

(Gretchen Johnson) #12

Dan - Thank you for those links! I’ve watched all of them, and have gotten so much out of them! I finished my first 48 hour fast yesterday, and the scale finally moved! It makes sense - everyone is different, and trying to find the right fasting schedule for your body is key. Thank you!

(Dan Dan) #13

Your Welcome :blush: