Keto since September - having issues

(Chandra) #1

So, I’m new to this forum thing please forgive me if I don’t know how to work it.

We’ve been keto since September. I went through some rough patches mentally after starting, but I seem to have levelled off in that aspect. Now I’m having a new issue. I see a lot of before/after pics, so I decided to take some of myself. I’ve lost a total of 25 pounds, but I swear in my pictures it looks like I’m gaining weight! I have new/more rolls! I’m starting to feel really discouraged.
Has anyone else had this happen? Is this normal? Any help would be appreciated.

(Mark Anthony Spiteri) #2

Hmm. And how do your clothes feel?

(Chandra) #3

They fit basically the same, some are a bit more loose but mostly they fit the same. Except I’ve gone down a bra size. But I highly doubt that one bra size = 25 pounds. I don’t have quadruple G’s or anything! Lol

(Guardian of the bacon) #4

I’d ask a neutral third party to scope out the pics. Our minds sometimes play tricks on us. Most people start noticing changes in the face first. Sadly the areas we are most concerned about are often the last to begin releasing their fat reserves. For me that area is my stomach.

(Chandra) #5

I sent them to my guy, and said he thought it looked like I gained weight too. I don’t know if there’s a way to post them here or not? Maybe we’re both distorted in our views. We’re doing keto together and he doesn’t feel like he’s losing anything, but he’s lost 48 pounds.

(Larry Lustig) #6

If you lost twenty-five pounds you lost twenty-five pounds. No need to try to convince yourself it didn’t happen.

I will say that my experience losing weight is that my body was quite “taut” before I started (because my skin was like a stuffed sausage casing) and that as I lost weight I got flabbier from deflation. I’m down just under 50 pounds (which is almost all I have to lose) and still have a small roll of very soft fat around my midsection.

(Chandra) #7

I guess it just doesn’t “feel” like I’ve lost weight because my clothes still fit the same and I look lumpier. But I weigh myself on the same scale a couple of times a week when I’m at work. It’s accurate, we use it for patients, so I trust it.

I just gotta take the win as a win. And hope that I keep moving in the right direction.

(Mark Anthony Spiteri) #8

I say that you lost the pounds than. Unfortunately our eyes can play tricks on us. I lost 30kg so far and sometimes when I look in the mirror I swear I see no difference - especially my tummy.

But all my friends and family say there is a huge difference! So I suggest get a friend or family to look at the photos and give you their opinion.

Also what I noticed in the past 7 months is that as far starts shifting your body shape changes. For instance my tummy was really hard initially (probably visceral fat) but then started getting soft! The same is now happening with my thighs.

Hope that helps! KCKO!

(Chandra) #9

Yea, I do feel jiggly-er too. Haha!

I think I just had a different idea of what fat loss would look like. You see before/during/after pics of others with dramatic weight changes and yours is going more slowly and your pics aren’t dramatic…it makes you feel like you’re doing it wrong. Or like this isn’t working for you. Thanks for the perspective guys! I’m taking the win and forgoing the pics. :slight_smile:

(Danielle) #10

Don’t get disheartened. Some of the before and after pics have taking those people 12+ months to lose that weight and have lost significant amounts of weight. Focus on your wins. 25 pounds is a big win since Sept.

(Larry Lustig) #11

I am guessing that the “aren’t dramatic” might possibly be more your view than an objective view. Although, to be fair, no one said anything to me for several months after I lost 45 pounds. Then I got new clothes and, although my weight hadn’t changed, suddenly everyone was noticing.

I can tell, looking in a mirror, that I’m skinnier, but I don’t see myself as a new person, and I certainly don’t see myself as the equivalent of the people who are unrecognizable from picture to picture.

(Mark Anthony Spiteri) #12

That is so true! I kept resisting new clothes for a while but than once I did the difference was so evident!

(Guardian of the bacon) #13

Remember that those that see you nearly every day won’t perceive change much better than you do looking in the mirror because it happens so gradually. I find that casual acquaintances that I see infrequently comment much more on my weight loss than friends and family I see on a weekly basis.

(I like to post memes!) #14

It takes a while for your brain to catch up, especially if you’ve been at the same size for a while. If you haven’t already, take measurements so that you have something more concrete to compare.

(Kerri Hines) #15

I only had 35 pounds total to lose and about 10-15 pounds in I was a little surprised that I didn’t look much different other than my face. My clothes may have been slightly loose but I wasn’t able to wear a smaller size at that point and I was surprised since I was 1/3 of the way through my weight loss.
I had luckily taken measurements in several places when I started and decided to check them again.
I had lost more than a full inch from my neck alone, which was how much I lost from my waist! Really?!? He could my neck have lost the same as my waist? :joy: I had lost from my arms, calves, thighs, considerably but none of those affected my pant size. The biggest difference was around my rib cage. I think it was like 4"… I honestly can’t remember now. But I had been wearing such tight bras before that I was still fastening them on the largest hook out of habit. Once I realized it, I fastened on the smallest hook and realized it fit perfectly there without being tight at all. They just had so much stretch I didn’t realize they were getting looser.
There’s absolutely no way you’ve lost 25 pounds without it coming from somewhere. What’s even crazier is that at some point you may actually have weight loss stop altogether but continue to get smaller. Now that I’m within 10 pounds of goal I haven’t been able to lose a single pound in over a year but I went from a size 8 to a 4 actually weighing 2 pounds heavier than my lowest weight achieved since keto.

(I like to post memes!) #16

@chandra-lah - you might benefit from the conversation here:

#17

If you had loose fitting clothes (like baggy sweaters and jogging pants) you would not likely notice a difference in how the clothes feel or even look. In fact, if your body gets smaller, and you were wearing loose-fitting clothes, it is very possible that your body may look even worse in the clothing (because the mismatch in sizes is greater). Women’s bodies can actually look dreadfully worse, even when skinnier, in clothes that do not drape correctly. The body’s curves cause so many visual problems.

My recommendation is to go to a thrift or second hand clothes store (or perhaps Walmart) and see if you can try on tighter fitting clothes to see what you look like in them. You may surprise yourself! In fact, I’m willing to bet you will indeed be pleasantly surprised!

(Chandra) #18

I read that forum and I think it was helpful. Thank you.

(I like to post memes!) #19

You are welcome!!! There’s lots of us dealing with this issue, you are not alone!

#20

One thing I think you mentioned is that you think your skin is looser. If so, perhaps you might want to double check your protein intake. Take into much can prevent the extra skin from being catabolized by the body.

That said, enjoy the scale victory, keep calm and keto on. :wink: