Keto the second time around... seems a lot harder

#1

Hi guys,
So last year I started The keto diet and did pretty well on it. From April to December I was monitoring my ketone levels daily (often multiple times a day) and was almost always in the 1-2.5 range.

Im a 154cm and my start weight was 60kg. lost around 4 kgs over that time and was pretty happy with the general change in body composition.

However in January this year I went on a month long holiday and found it almost impossible to stick to keto and fell off the wagon in a big way. I put the 4kg I had lost straight back on.

Ive been eating keto again for the past 6 weeks (not quite as consistently as the first time around) and the weight doesn’t seem to be budging. In fact I’ve put on another 2 kgs and I’m now heavier than before I ever started. I’m quite disheartened so I’ve been restricting calories to around 800-1000 a day to try and get the weight off but to no avail.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did you stick with keto and did the weight come down? Have I completed screwed up my metabolism?

Many thanks

(Patrick B.) #2

Unfortunately, I have no real advice for you. I’ll leave that to the more seasoned ketoers. I will tell you that I firmly believe with what I’ve seen and heard that if you do have a screwed up metabolism, Keto will be the thing to fix it.

#3

Thanks @Faitmaker. I’ll stick with it and hopefully the scales start to go in the right direction

#4

when you say you are eating keto…what does that mean?
(1) how many grams carbs per day?
(2) how many grams protein per day?
(3) are you eating enough fat?
(4) how many meals do you eat a day? Do you snack between meals?

#5

I’m using MFP and I’m having around 75:20:5 breakdown with around 100g fat, 60g protein and 15g carbs.

I eat it all in one meal in the evening (usually eggs cooked in butter with Brussels sprouts cooked in coconut oil or chicken livers cooked in butter with kale or lamb and veg). In the mornings I also have 2 coffees with a tablespoon of C8 oil and a scoop of powdered MCT in each coffee.

#6

I try not to snack but if I do it’s usually macadamia nuts or prosciutto or a some cream cheese

(G. Andrew Duthie) #7

If your goal is to use intermittent fasting to boost your progress, try very hard to avoid snacking. For me, I can tell the difference when I snack, even when what I eat is very high fat. While pure fat (butter, for example) might be manageable, anything with significant amounts of protein or carbs (even if relatively small amounts) can provoke an insulin response. Do that throughout the day, and you may stall even with keto-friendly snacks.

Restricting calories won’t help, and in fact may be counterproductive, as it will tell your body that there’s food, but not enough, and may result in a drop in basal metabolic rate. You’ll likely feel tired, and cold, and crappy, and it probably won’t move the needle much, if at all.

Make a plan. Whether that is one meal a day IF, or following specific macros, or doing the occasional extended fast. Any of those should help. Some other ideas:

  • Consider trying a week or two with 45-50g of protein instead of 60, and get the replacement caloric intake from fat, and see what happens.
  • Try eliminating all dairy for a week or two.
  • Try getting carbs down to an even lower level (drop veggies if you need to), like 5g.
  • Make sure that you aren’t allowing carbs to slip in here and there uncounted, as with HWC, which in the US says 0g of carb per serving, but it’s actually more like 0.4g, so if you’re using a lot, it can add up.
  • Also be aware that some non-caloric sweeteners use dextrose or maltodextrin (or both) as bulking agents. If you only use one packet a day, probably no biggie, but if you’re using a lot, this will also add up.
  • If you are confident that you’re fat-adapted, consider trying an extended (multi-day) fast. You can do a full-on water-only fast, or you can supplement with fat (butter, coconut oil, MCT oil (in moderation, especially at first)). Make sure to get plenty of water, and add salt to the water, as you’ll need it. Also a good idea to bump up other electrolytes while fasting.

I can definitely sympathize with the frustration. Most of us have had ups and downs. Stick to the basics, and it will usually work eventually. Good luck!

(Ashley Haddock) #8

Couldn’t have said it any better than this!

You will get there, it will just take some time and patience. I try to remember I put my body through a lot of crap over the years and I need to be patient with it while it fixes itself.

#9

Thanks so much @devhammer.

I suspect I’m not 100% fat-adapted yet because even though I’m attempting to IF I’m suffering through it and and hungry throughout most of the day and I’m always thinking about what I’m going to eat. I’ll go back to having 3 meals and try not to freak out about the calorie count.

I’ll give the lower protein and no dairy strategy a go and weigh myself again in 2 weeks

Thanks again. I’m hoping I haven’t done any serious damage to my metabolism by bouncing in and out of keto as dramatically as I did.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #10

Just be sure to make only one change at a time, otherwise you’ll have trouble figuring out what caused any changes, be they positive or negative.

Unlikely. A month isn’t really a very long time in terms of resetting our bodies. In any event, done is done. Just make your plans on how to move forward from here. :smiley:

#11

Devhammer gave you some great advice.
I doubt you did serious damage to your metabolism. It just takes time and effort to steer the ship into another direction. You can do it! :grinning:

#12

Thanks so much for the great advice and moral support. I’m more attached to dairy than protein so I’ll try the reduced protein first and see how I go.

Fingers crossed

(Stephanie) #13

Hi Syd - same here. Fell off the wagon after a 14-day fast, some holidays, and a death in the family. Now struggling to get back on. Also, noted the same thing for 2016 - lost about 15 pounds, then yo-yo’d. I think one has to be very willing to prepare food, which I don’t really like to. I have to set myself up for success by getting everything prepared, but I don’t, so I end up snacking on meats and cheese sticks, so I over consume. Even on strict keto, I’ve rarely felt satiated as most others are. I really only felt that on an extended fast. I tried to fast the other day from a non keto state, but only made it one day. I’m not in a good way now and gained all my weight back. Anyway, I hear ya.

#14

@Stemo… so glad I’m not the only one! I’ve been trying exactly the same thing- almost every week I’ve attempt an extended fast but have never made it past 36 hours (at best) and it’s only made me obsess even more about food and over-eat when meal time comes around. So I’ve come to the realisation that it’s probably best not to attempt any sort of a fast until I’m on an even keel with fat adaptation…, which seems to be taking a lot longer this time around,

As for preparing meals, I absolutely agree- it’s a must!

(Phoenix) #15

Hey Syd, I’m on the same boat as you. I first started Keto October last year, did really well for two months, then before I could fully adapt and make it part of my lifestyle. December came around along with all the stress of meeting deadlines before work shut down, Xmas and New Year festivities, and back to visit my family (Chinese) living on a diet of high carb and lots of fruit as well as eating partial Keto meant I packed on the pounds super fast, it was so noticeable to everyone how much weight I had put on that I had a miserable summer holiday feeling fat.
Since the beginning of the year, I have gotten back on track and fully committed to this WOE, my weight has not changed drastically like most people, but my stomach is getting flatter, and 7 weeks in I’m starting to feel better about myself.
I have only been doing 16:8 IF because it’s relatively easy, and have not ventured into the extended fasting yet, because I want my body to take time and adjust, and I’ll slowly introduce it to new ideas as I progress rather then stressing it out all at once, so far it’s been working for me :slight_smile:
KCKO

(Karen Fricke) #16

I’m a little confused, in your initial post you said you’re not as consistent with keto as you had been, and you were keeping calories at 800-1000. That’s too low. But in a later reply you have your macros and that added up to approx 1200 calories and the food you described sounded pretty keto to me. The calories still seen a little low. I suggest increasing calories a little, avoid any artificial sweeteners you might be getting, avoid processed food as much as possible to avoid hidden carbs, keep calm and keto on.

#17

All good advice given already. The ONLY way really is to experiment and switch things up one at a time as @devhammer talked about. Nuts and dairy certainly hold me up - if I am careful with them I will maintain fine enough and not gain but they are more of a maintenance food for me. I also have discovered a sensitivity to lactose which can have a big impact so worth checking - best way is to avoid completely for as long as you can and then add some back and see what happens.

Also, it would appear from your stats that you don;t have a lot of weight to lose. In fact plugging you into a BMI calculator puts your BF at around 25%. Now that is just a quick check but it says to me - apart from your height and weight - that you are not carrying a lot. That is always going to make losing weight that bit slower.

I would be tempted to throw some feel-good lifestyle choices in there if you have the time…

  • exercise - especially outdoors in the fresh air. So good for your health and well-being
  • social activities - having fun with other people has similar benefits
  • sleep. Are you getting enough? Is it good quality?
  • stress. Under much? Can you reduce it? Meditation, exercise, social interaction, sleep.

I also agree with @devhammer about the IF and calories. Either have fasting days or blocks of time but eat when you eat. This can be hard to do as appetite goes down but you are better to try eating at meal times only, especially if you are a grazer (I know that habit well!). This is another reason not to have snacky type foods to hand although it is a good idea when you are adapting and would be tempted to reach for something carby. It is all about balance. Maybe cut back the fasting until you are better adapted? Or just do it a couple of days a week. Or one 24 hour period a week or month???

Do come back with progress and questions. There will always be plenty of people to throw plenty of ideas your way. x

#18

Sorry what I meant was that I tried taking my calories down to between 800-1000 and the weight still kept going up. But yes now I’m mostly around the 1200 calorie mark except for when I’m attempting IF.

The food is generally pretty keto except that I haven’t been as good as making sure the macro breakdown is spot on for each meal, I know it’s in the right ratio over the whole day but individual meals may not be perfectly in the golden ratio.

Thanks so much for all the support guys. Just the reassurance has helped keep my motivated to keep going.

(Karen Fricke) #19

1200 calories may not be enough to keep your metabolism from slowing down, sometimes eating more helps. When I’m logging food I aim for less than 20 grams total carbs, approx 50 protein and fat to satiety.

#20

Thanks. I’ll bump up to he calories and see how I go. Failing that I’ll turn protein down to 15%