Started keto in may of 2018. Up until beginning of November i was down 45 pounds from 263 to 218. Over the last two months i have gained about 10 pounds and not sure where its coming from. Im still in ketosis using my keto mojo meter and getting readings anywhere from .5 to 1.0 mmol each morning. Ive tried reducing calories and still continue to gain. I did move in November and have had been under some stress. I also feel like i have been eating possibly to many calories but havent really been keeping tabs on caloric intake. I do use a keto macro nutrient calculator but they all very all over the board. Sometimes by up to 200-300 calories. I’ve thought about doing the carnivore diet for a month just to see what happens. I’ve been keto adapted for prob for 6-7 months now. Also about 2-3 months ago i noticed the energy i once had from being on keto that being having hard time to go to bed by 1am and wide awake at 530 to now tired most of the day and struggle to get up. Its everything has done a 180. Any body experience anything like this. Any suggestions, ideas. Frustrating to have such success then see it just fall apart and have no idea why. Hopefully some of you have some insight and suggestions. Thank you in advance to your comments.
Keto Weight Gain Over Last Few Months
This has not happened to me but it sounds like you are just sitting at your “natural” keto weight plateau.
That weight might go up or down based on stress (which you said you just had some), sleep, becoming a better cook, etc.
If that is the case, you might need to up your game to break that plateau (if further weight loss is desirable).
I am a firm believer that a really good keto cook can maintain a lot of excess body fat simply because they can make such highly palatable food - same with someone that knows the 10 best keto restaurants in town and goes out a lot. Keto readings, good blood numbers but not what is needed for weight loss.
Carnivore is an option but so is just sticking to the same meals each day (i.e. if one of the things keeping your weight higher is that you now cook better, know where to go to get great keto meals, etc. making your meals less palatable might deflate you a bit - along with dropping any fat bombs and butter coffee you may be consuming).
The other thing I would suggest is fasting. If your body is not sending you any of the high energy “keto is great” signal it used to, maybe it has pretty much adapted. Throw in some IF/EF and you may get that feeling back.
Thank you so much for your input…i really appreciate it… I have been thinking about getting back to IF and try getting to the gym more see if i can break out of this.
Also, and I often forget too, but it’s not always diet. Have you started any new meds, or changed meds. You mentioned stress which could impact things. And you moved, did that change your daily routine/activity level, etc?
If it is the diet, did you change the timing of meals, eating window, quantity of food, type of foods, etc? I absolutely hate journaling but I sure do like the info when I’m trying to figure something out.
Rob, just wanted to chime in real quick on your sage advice to the OP and others like him. I think you are one of the most astute observers and advisors on this forum. Look forward to all your replies to problematic posts.
Hello Brandon.
What jumps out at me is two things. One, you haven’t really been tracking what you eat and two, you are stressed. I would try to watch more carefully what I am eating if I were you and I would try to find a way to relax. Take a few days off maybe or treat yourself to something nice like a good massage or a fishing trip or whatever it is that you find relaxing.
If you’re fat adapted, and have been for that long, what’s your dietary fat intake like? Have you reduced it considerably to allow your body fat to fuel your energy needs?
When I stall, it’s because I am eating too much dietary fat. Something to think about.
I just finished listening to 2ketodudes podcast where they were talking about some weight creeping up. In Richard’s case, it was a slow creep of carbs in some foods he thought were carb free. So maybe take a really hard look at what you’re eating to make sure you’re not unintentionally eating more carbs than you think.
Other than IF or OMAD, have you thought about going in the OTHER direction for a day or two? Just take a couple of days to intentionally FEAST. I think that’s sometimes needed to help reset or shake up the homeostasis that our bodies tend to settle into.
Stress and disrupted sleep can play havoc with metabolism, hunger and weight loss.
A note on stress; Cortisol, the so called stress hormone, which mediates the flight or fight response, a set of physiologcal responses to perceived threat.
Cortisol, part of the class of steroid hormones called glucocorticoids (glucose/cortex/steroid), is produced by the adrenal cortex.
Once released, cortisol substantially enhances glucose availablity, which provides energy for the muscles, very neccessary in order to help us run away from being eaten by something, lol. All available energy is directed towards survivng the stressful event.
Growth, digestion, and other long term metabolic activities are temporarily restricted. Proteins are boken down and converted to glucose (gluconeogenesis)
Hi! What stood out to me is decrease in energy. Overall sluggishnesss is the sign that something is in disagreement.
I also had sluggishness on keto and that happened due to 2 factors: 1) i was overdoing fat for me. 2) i was overdoing salt. Salt, like sugar, causes me stiffness, bloating, hottness, i feel inflamed and tired.
I temporary stopped consuming fat and salt - IF - and i immediately had a relief.
If i were you, i would do IF. And see how your energy levels go. If your energy is affected by overdoing anything on keto, then with removal of all keto food, you must experience a relief and it will tell you to modify you food intake.
Another thing to try is to decrease %of fat. Decrease salt. Eat something simple and not necessarily tasty. And add regular exercise. Exercise helps with stress.
I really appreciate everyone response and answers. Some of these i will def look at and try to work on. Just really frustrating. I thought about doing a two day i guess they call re-feed then get back into ketosis see if that helps but i like some of these responses and will try to utilize the info i have received here. i can’t thank you all enough for the suggestions and ideas.
You may have just gotten a little too “comfortable “ with the lifestyle. I know there are critics of the daily weight routine that I perform but what it does do is keep me accountable and doesn’t allow any “surprises” to occur. Each day is planned according, more or less, to where I weighed in at. If I had a feast day with maybe a few more carbs in it that will reflect in my weight and I’ll throttle back for today and maybe IF until dinner.
Hi Brandon, I would ask a question to you, have you been adjusting your macros to reflect your weight loss as you go?
I agree with @ava_ad0re about cutting back fat levels if you’re fat adapted and want more weight loss.
I had a 6 week stall and broke it by reducing meat proteins a bit, eating more veggies, (started making and eating probiotic fermented vegetables almost daily) and cutting back on dairy consumption. I had been avoiding nuts already. I started losing again right away and felt more energy. Sometimes you just need to tweak the daily eating routines which become habits, a natural tendency for all of us humans. 