Keto: Healed my body l, but I’ve gained weight


(Cara Murray) #1

I’ve been Keto 20 months. I am off all thyroid meds as my blood work is perfect now! My trigs are 39 my HDL is 114 and LDL 100. I workout 5 days a week I feel great. However over this time I have slowly gained 15lbs and now my clothes don’t fit! I’ve cut dairy, I’ve cut nuts, the past 3 weeks I’ve ate at a defecit using calorie cycling for a weekly average of 1100-1550 calories per day. Anybody have thoughts on this? I usually eat 1800 calories.


(Ken) #2

What kind of weight? Do you think it’s fat? It could be a combination of water and muscle. What do your measurements tell you?


(Carpe salata!) #3

2 things that come to mind

  • Muscle mass increase
  • Starving yourself causing decrease in BMR

Thanks for sharing your wins - they look great!
Good luck and KCKO :slight_smile:


#4

CONGRATS :confetti_ball:

At a certain point, keto isn’t about weight as much as it is about measurements. You haven’t stated anything about your measurements? If you’ve gained weight but are shrinking in size, that’s a sign that you are restoring lean mass through proper nourishment.

And, healthy levels of bodyfat are pivotal for female health - judging from your profile pic you may be too low on body mass in general - healing may involve actually gaining some healthy fat and muscle!!! You might want to check in with a supportive physician on that, as lean muscle and a certain amount of fat are critical for heart health. :sparkling_heart:

If you’re working out 5x a week it can work against you hormonally - depending on what you’re doing, related to cortisol along with lack of mitochondrial activation if you’re not doing slow strength training. For example, in the slow weight lifting or bodyweight big 5 training routines the training is only only 1-2x per week.

Also, reducing food intake without intermittent fasting (a small eating window each day, anywhere from 4-6 hours) - ie, several snack-meals throughout the day, will keep insulin levels higher. And, if you ARE doing IF, doing 7 days a weeks all the time can create a metabolic rut, as the body needs a degree of randomness for metabolic agility training etc - depending on your age and other conditions.

Hope this helps!


(Frank) #5

Is your profile pic current or at the beginning of your keto journey?


#6

Set weights are hard to budge. Have you tried Intermittent Fasting at all? Might be you need a change to get your system out of it’s plateau.
Maybe also check stress and sleep levels - cortisol causes water and fat retention - and see if the way your thyroid hormone levels have changed since you stopped the meds is having an effect?

You might need to call your Doctor to get the actual results rather than a ‘they’re perfect’ - what does that mean and how do they know? I have hypothyroidism, and one thing I learned is that the ranges are just a statistical average- Doctors aren’t very good at judging what your personal level should be based on how you feel, they just say it’s good when you’re in range. But top of the range could be fine for one, and too high or even too low for others, and out of range could also be the ‘perfect’ level for someone else.
So, you might be in range, but at a level that is still too low for you, which would slow you down and your metabolism with it.


(Cara Murray) #7

Profile pic before Keto. If between 16-18 hours easily. Daily. It’s far. It’s in my hips, thighs, butt, breast, are, distributed evenly. I wasn’t upset until I couldn’t get my jeans on and my bras don’t fit!!


#8

It could be that the healthiest weight for you is more than you think it is. If all your other numbers have improved, trust your body.


(Cara Murray) #9

I read my own lab work haha! I am a functional nutritionist. I can’t fogure my own weight gain out so I thought asking might help, if someone could see something missing! All my labs from thyroid full ipanel to metabolic markers to blood counts look great!


(Michelle) #10

Is it possible you were underweight and this is your healthy weight? :woman_shrugging:t3:


(Cara Murray) #11

Thank you!!!


(Cara Murray) #12

I thought of that but I don’t love that! Haha!! Former fat girl I loved the way I looked at that weight!


(Cara Murray) #13

Thank you for the response. Unfortunately it’s fat. Hips, bust, waist, arms, all of it. I IF 16-18 hours daily. I run, that’s what I love. I do kettle bell work, push-ups, squats and work like that as well. I’ve tried upping calories from fat and lowering protein, higher protein less fat, carnivore or about zero carb…the weight has come slowly over these 2 years…a couple pounds a month adds up!!


#14

Right - well, it may well be fat needed for your hormonal & heart health. Excess cortisol due to lack of recovery time in between workouts may also be an issue.

The body has some pretty primordial healing processes as you prob already know, since you said you’re a functional nutritionist. I don’t know what age you are, but the body is going to prioritize fertility above all else, and that means enough body fat - females have about 5% more than males for very specific hormonal health benefits. It could be fortunate!

I don’t know much about labs, but encourage you to check out LCHF/keto physician Doug McGuff MD’s Body By Science if you’ve not already read it :blush:

Other than that - some folks around here find the DEXA scan helpful for confirming the state of lean mass and fat.


(Cara Murray) #15

Thank you so much!!! And you are correct I often think if I was my own client what would I tell myself and it would be just that!! Thanks!


(Running from stupidity) #16

People I believe: some people who I have decided deserve it
People I don’t believe: Myself and most other people


(Cara Murray) #17

I ordered the book thanks again!


(Troy) #18

W the profile pic you look great!!
Nice background too. Beautiful :heart_eyes:

Don’t take this the wrong away please, a compliment :smile:

But if you loose any more weight from the profile pic, a nice gust of wind , might take you over those rails😳

Any who, good luck!


#19

You’re very welcome Cara!

One more thing - in case you haven’t seen it - here’s a great resource from Leanne Vogel on keto & female hormones/cortisol.


(Rebecca Van Tassell) #20

My story sounds very similar to yours. I hope that you have had some success in figuring out what is going on - and if you haven’t - I want you to know I sympathize with you! If you did, what did you try?