KETO without Weight loss

#1

Obviously, Keto has a strong following because of the weight loss benefits, but does any one stay on Keto longterm without the weight loss? I could see how someone who needs to lose weight but cant on keto would quit when they dont see results. Anyone out there overweight and has been with keto awhile without weight loss?

(Carl Keller) #2

Check out this sub forum (which is where I moved your thread to):

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/newbies/not-losing-weight

Not losing weight happens quite a bit but usually it’s a temporary thing. It’s probably best to not look at keto as a diet but rather a way of eating. Weight loss just happens to be one of the many positive side effects.

I started keto for weight loss but I was hooked after less than a week, even though I might have only lost a few pounds. So much healing occured when I stopped eating processed foods that I literally feel 20 years younger.

Just to name a few things that makes keto worthwhile to me:

I have greater endurance, my brain works better, I have better patience, the inflammation I once associated with getting old is gone and for once in my life, I understand how my hunger is supposed to behave.

#3

Thanks @CarlKeller for the info!

Im just asking if there is anyone out there that has been on KETO for a long time-6 months to a year- that never lost weight when they have the weight to lose. I feel like maybe people who do not lose weight in the first month or so tend to just give up.

Personally for me, the KETO positive are not feeling bloated. Negatives are stomach aches and not having energy for intense cardio

Ive been on keto for 3 weeks now and no weight loss. Obviously, I want to become healthier and with my body type, my dr suggested little to no carbs as a lifestyle.

Lastly, I am getting married in November 2019 and want to make sure I look and feel great for that day but I am sort of stressed that I havent lost a lb when I have about 30 lbs to lose.

(Jan curtis) #4

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. I’ve been on keto for 6 weeks, and no weight loss. I check my ketone levels often and am always in strong ketosis. Not sure what to think. I do enjoy fats and not having hunger pangs. Maybe that’s enough for now?? Do have fun on your wedding day!!

(Scott) #5

Yes I have about 10 more pounds to lose but that’s not why I will stay on keto. I stay because I feel good, maintenance is easy, I am healthier, and most of all I know what happens on either SAD or calorie deficit. I will always gain the weight back. I am not suffering keto I am enjoying it.

(Carl Keller) #6

I’m guilty of skipping over that question and jumping right in to convince you that keto isn’t just about weight loss. I can’t speak for everyone but I know some athletes go keto to improve their performance so for them it’s not about weight loss.

More water and salt might help with your stomach problem. Up to 2 liters or water and 2+ teaspoons of salt per day can usually take care of of most side effects.

As for your lack of energy during cardio, strenuous exercise is probably going to leave you and most people drained for the first month or so. Until your body can adjust to burning ketones efficiently, the fuel that your body wants just isn’t coming in efficiently. That should greatly improve if you keep restricting carbs and eating fat and protein to satiety.

Congrats and remember your fiance already accepts you just as you are. So don’t stress over it and lose the weight for YOU! You deserve to be healthy.

Maybe you can tell us what you are eating in a typical day and if you are using artificial sweeteners, diet drinks or are on any medications? Stress can also play a role in keeping us from losing weight but to be honest, it takes some people a month or two before their body trusts the process enough to let go of its fat.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #7

Lay off on the intense cardio until you’re fat adapted. You’re stressing your body at the same time you’re changing your main energy source. Try daily walks for the next month or more and introduce exercise later when your metabolism has adapted.

#8

Hiiiiiii this is me. I don’t lose weight on keto. Been doing it for a year. The blood sugar (hanger) issues I was experiencing went away immediately and that’s reason enough for me to stay mostly obedient. I could definitely stand to lose weight but I guess it stopped being as much of a driver when I kept learning about the other health benefits of low carb. Basically I believe low carb keto is the best method for optimal health and long term I’m sure I will be better off. If I never lose any weight I will still stick with it. I don’t weigh anymore because I fluctuate so much it makes me depressed. I’m practicing intermittent fasting now to see if I can trigger some changes and I’m loving it, but even if it doesn’t really work I know that it’s also good for me so I will likely keep at it

#9

Carl I think you’re swell

(Natasha) #10

I second that!

(Daisy) #11

I struggle to lose weight this time on keto. I have to really be ridiculously strict (no dairy, no nuts, watch calories -ie do’t go over or under certain numbers, absolutely nothing that’s ever been through a process, exercise enough but not too much, etc) to lose weight. I very easily have 10-20 lbs to lose. But I have strayed just a little too far from keto twice now and had to restart everything. It’s enough to remember why I keto, even without the weight loss. I have bad days now (where I eat too much and not the best foods for me) but not bad weeks. Not enough to lose my fat adaption again!

(Carl Keller) #12

@LindsaySue @Natasha

Thank you both! You made my day. :blush:

(Tess Rubicon) #13

Hi rmur. I’ve been on Keto for a year now. I have only lost 26 pounds but the reason I keep it as part of my life is because I was a horrible chocoholic for decades. We do a lot of entertaining at our farm, and if someone brought a whole box of Hershey’s chocolate for s’mores as their potluck item, I’d toss the marshmallows on the fire to watch them burn, then I could eat 4 sometimes 5 bars of chocolate. It’s not even the GOOD chocolate! That’s all gone now. I don’t know why, but I don’t even miss it. I don’t sit in front of the tv at night and wonder if I hid chocolate from Easter or Christmas in a drawer somewhere and then physically get up and go look for it! :laughing:. But most important, what is gone are the headaches and stomach aches I would wake up and struggle with during the day, chocolate or not. (I was not always successful in my search!) The days of keeping Excedrin, Nuprin, Alka Seltzer and antacid chewies stocked up are over. 26 pounds? I’ll take it! (Although I’m always checking to see if anything else besides pain sailed out the window.)

(Janelle) #14

I’ve been on keto 5 months and I have lost weight but not quite 20lbs. I follow 20 whole carbs pretty religiously - haven’t fallen off the wagon once (as in a binge or big cheat). It’s frustrating but I actually can’t imagine going back to SAD.

My dad died of cancer when I was 21 and my mom is battling three separate forms of it now. I have high bp and cholesterol (the latter of which I no longer care about). Maybe if I could see zero benefit from shirking the sugar, I’d go back? As it is, I don’t love having to think about what to eat next (yes, I’m one of those people who does still think about food - not as in “yummy yummy food” but as in “all they have is carbs here” while I’m working or traveling). I’m not house bound and the world, in general, is not keto. I was a vegetarian at one point. I seriously think keto is harder than veg. On the other hand, I managed to gain weight eating the wrong substitute stuff in that way of eating.

(PSackmann) #15

I started Keto Jan 1, 2019, with a focus on reducing inflammation before foot surgery. Imagine my surprise when I found myself at my lowest weight in 5 years once I finally weighed (only after I was weighed for my pre-op). The reduction in inflammation as well as getting rid of the “hangry shakes” is well worth it, size reduction for me is just a side-effect. Even if I stay the same weight I am now, I’ll continue for all the non-weight benefits.

(Scott) #16

Rmur

I started 6 months ago. The first three months I lost 20 pounds and abruptly stopped after three months and maintained for three months. I didn’t panic I just watched and waited. At the six month mark I made a small change of reducing my morning fat intake a little and the scale started moving again. Give it some time before making sudden changes.

About cardio energy: I don’t think doing cardio is bad or wrong but understand it is going to suck until you get adapted to burning fat as your primary fuel. For me it took three months before I could get out and run five miles and feel great. Before three months I had to insert walking breaks. Have faith, limit carbs and things will take care of themselves.

#17

Thank you all for the feedback! I have been very steady in counting my carbs and keeping it at 20G. I have only gone a little above this a couple of times. I guess I am just going to stick with it and hopefully see some results soon.

#18

I was wondering how your Keto journey is going? Did the weight loss kick in?

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #19

I started to reduce inflammation and try to heal my body, degenerated disks in my C spine. It has helped tremendously! Even if I had not lost any weight I would never go back to SAD. It’s ass-backwards lol. It’s making people sick and Keto helps me feel great!

#20

I only lose weight when my ketones are 1.5mmol or above and i can only seem to be this high when i cut out all carbs. Any moderate carb veggies and i tend to run around 0.5mmol and i seem to plateua with weight here. However, this doesnt deter me as the cognitive clarity i get, plus all the veggies i consume when doing keto makes its worthwhile for me regardless of weight.