Losing weight but very slooooooooooowly

(Liz Santiago) #1

Is this normal? I started keto Jan 1, 2021 and up to May I lost 50 lb (10 pounds a month) Then during the summer I started losing 6 pound a month. Since Jan 2022 I have been losing only 2-4 pounds a month. and I have been eating the same things so it is not like I have made drastic changes. When I started I was 300 pounds and now I am 220 and although at this point Keto is not for me a diet, it is just the way I now eat, I am annoyed that I am not losing more. I do not exercise and never have because I honestly get so tired from work (teacher) that when I get home I just want to lay down and do nothing.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

Fat loss always slows, when the body gets close to what it considers a healthy weight. It doesn’t mean you are necessarily doing anything wrong.

I started where you were, and lost around 80 lbs. (36 kg), and my weight loss stopped. I continued to lose fat for a while, but it was matched by an increase in lean mass, so my weight remained stable. I embarked on a ketogenic eating plan for the purpose of reversing my metabolic dysfunction and succeeded, so while I could certainly stand to lose another 80 lbs., I don’t worry about it. If you are still losing, that’s great. Your current fat loss is greater than what Dr. Stephen Phinney typically sees in his research subjects, which is around 20% of starting weight. If it continues for you, mazel tov!

Dr. Phinney says that the first thing to do, when feeling stuck, is to cut carb intake even further. The second thing he recommends is to add more fat to the diet. It may not make any difference in your current circumstances, but something to bear in mind is that if we continue eating a ketogenic diet, many people find their weight starting to drop again, after a year or two, according to Dr. Phinney.

#3

It’s normal but 2 pounds a month is still a nice pace for me (I had no chance for more, maybe that’s why :smiley: but I am impatient regarding fat-loss anyway), I had that when I had more to lose and was younger too… Now I lose nothing with much more efforts and way less carbs. There is a way but that’s even stricter.

It’s pretty normal and logical that fat-loss slows down when you get thinner.

(Liz Santiago) #4

Thanks

(Liz Santiago) #5

thanks

(Pete A) #6

I lost eighty pounds 4.5 years ago. I was 139. I’m now 153. I added muscle and still lose fat… But very slowly! And with a lot of work.

The new normal.

(Robin) #7

I know we want more, but your experience is the norm. And you will go they stages where you lose more or still or whatever. But you are on track.
Think about this… Look at the weight you are now and ask yourself how you felt about that number on your way UP. You thought you looked fat fat fat. And now on the way down, you look at yourself and feel so much BETTER on your way (weigh) DOWN.

It’s all in our perception. But rest assured…. you are headed in the right direction. My path and timing was about the same as yours. Now 2 years later, I’m where I need to be, with no effort.
You got this!

(Joey) #8

You will asymptotically approach your healthiest weight while you treat yourself as good as you have been.

I understand you’re tired, but please do consider adding some exercise. It wouldn’t hurt. On the contrary, it’s where fresh energy comes from… like winding the clock. :wink:

#9

Very typical of what most of us have experienced. When I started to plateau, I began to keep a log of my other successes…new clothing sizes, falling blood glucose levels, new blood pressure levels, etc. It helps me stay positive and continue my journey.

#10

Tracking what you eat?, or eating to satiety? If to satiety, have you noticed yourself getting less and less hungry as a whole?

(a6c79795e634ee0d1f96) #11

Did you recalculate your macro with your current weight? Every time you drop weight you should adjust you protein/fat/carb amount.
Do you have hormonal imbalance?
Are you bloated?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

If you keep carbohydrate intake under 20 g/day and eat protein and fat to satiety, there is no need for calculations, because the body handles that.

(a6c79795e634ee0d1f96) #13

It totally depends of your body. You are a man and your amount of protein and fat can be very high. Women are different. Hormones for us play a big role. I see many women on keto who can t loose weight or can t be on ketosis… even following high fat/protein.
I had to adjust mine. Also my carbs are 50g per day and I lost all the weight I wanted to. Just because one day I thought « what about reducing my protein and higher my carbs » big result: I was for the first time of my life on ketosis.
I don t write this being angry Paul… just sharing my iwn experience.

#14

How did you determine you are/were in ketosis at 50 grams of carbs per day?

#15

But it just doesn’t. Many of us in this forum experienced that.
I personally overeat fat even if I do my best to keep at it a minimum (well maybe not my absolute best but that’s tiring), some people starve while eating to satiation, we may eat the wrong protein amount or even a wrong protein/fat ratio…
Many says they can’t lose fat if they eat dairy/sweeteners/whatever…

My body is very smart and want to stay fat. I sooo need tricks. And when we are very used to eating a ton, we don’t necessarily lose this just because we go low with carbs (and how low? mere ketosis never was enough for some of us).

Keto may be a borderline magical for some people but does about nothing to others and finetuning is required.
I was so hopeful carnivore will be the key, an easy one at that, but nope, it’s not that easy. I still need many extra rules just to have a tiny chance.
And many people have it harder than me (I just need to eat little :smiley: okay, it’s borderline impossible for me but simple enough), I have read stories about people way more in control, doing things stricter with very tiny success.

(a6c79795e634ee0d1f96) #16

Keto stripes that I use all day long. Very acurate. And other symptoms like not being hungry. It is a real thing! On Ketosis you are not hungry. I have to force myself to eat dinner. When I am hungry and want to snack I know I am not on ketosis. My husband is the same. Sweating more, loosing weight, smelly urine (don t know about you but on ketosis my urine smells a bit different). I have more clarity on ketosis like think faster, read faster, more sociable, « being there » and my mood is stable. That’s it for the symptoms.