Lost 1 Stone, now putting on Weight

(Andy) #1

Hi All,
Wondering if you can give me advice…

I started Keto three weeks ago and initially I lost a stone in the first two weeks, however this last week I have put weight on every day.

I’m 35, 5ft 5", Male, 209 pounds. Office job and busy life, so exercise is limited.
Websites tell me my Keto macros should be Protein 94g, Fat - 118g - Carbs 20g, 1526 calories

I’ve been tracking my eating religiously but the last few days i’ve put on weight (3lbs)
My macros for the last three days have been:

Protein - 79g, 116g and 116g
Fat - 99g, 99g, 92g
Carbs - 44g, 48g, 27g
Calories - 1405, 1545, 1389

My diet generally consists of:

Breakfast - 2 eggs scrambled.
Lunch - Salad, Coleslaw(50g), Cheese (30g) and 100g of meat
Dinner - Salad, Coleslaw(50g), Cheese (30g) and 100g of meat or Veg and 150g of meat.
Snack - 100g of no sugar Jelly (basically free macros) and 30gs of Almonds with 20g of Peanut Butter
Water - 1.5-2 litres minimum

Am I eating too much protein and not enough fat?
I am really struggling to stay under 20gs of carbs aswell. EVERYTHING has carbs in lol.

Any help appreciated.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #2

Hello and welcome to the Forum - your in the right place :grinning:

First off I’m new too so inexperienced but someone good will be online soon.
Well done on the weight loss. Initially it’s mostly water but hey, we’ll take it, right?
Test strips are good to check for keytones. Not expensive.
Don’t worry about calories. Not important right now. Eat a fatty breakfast. You’ll be less hungry latter on and may (like many of us) only eat twice a day. No snacks.
Your menu is great but to start double check those carbs. And salt to taste.
Exercise not critical.
Things take a while to settle but you will love it :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#3

You eat very little protein from my viewpoint, I never could do that… But it may be just enough for you, at least the 116g. I can’t possibly know. But too much? No way. Well, some people are sensitive to their protein intake, I mean they eat normal amount of protein and it still interferes but it’s very rare.
Not enopugh fat? I would think so considering you eat low-carlorie. I don’t think that’s a good idea THOUGH I heard success stories from men who slim down quickly and easily on low-cal keto so it works for someone…
But 1400-1500 kcal sounds quite little for someone with your stats… I am a short woman but that is low-key starvation to me, I always get hungry that low (except if it’s for one day). But we are all different. How do you feel? Do you get satiated nicely or you force these small macros on yourself? Except for the carbs, that may be high but maybe not, it’s individual… 20g is a popular carb limit because it works for almost everyone especially if it’s total carbs. But many of us are in ketosis with way more net and even more total as well. But we can’t know it in advance and you don’t even have exercise on your side (not like it’s needed to have a higher ketosis carb limit but it definitely helps).

It’s not true but almost :slight_smile: But many items has very few carbs in it (and I don’t care anyway). Most of my carbs come from eggs, liver and dairy. Well I sarted with way more… But it didn’t give me benefits beyond fat adaptation, it was just a temporal, needed phase.
It’s not so hard to stay below 5g total carbs if you like meat and aren’t particularly attached to plants (not like I went that low for long but I often eat 10-20g carbs from animal sounces only). It’s still not for everyone, sure but it’s very easy to plan such a day, no matter the calorie intake. Fat has no carbs :D. But 20g is easy for many even with vegs. Vegs are carby but some of them less so and anyway, it’s about the right amounts, I used somewhat higher-carb ones in tiny amounts due to their much stronger, better flavor, it was worth it.

I very seriously doubt you put on any fat eating so very little. Bodyweight fluctuations are normal. One week means nothing.

(Edith) #4

Did you change what you were eating this week? Add in the no sugar Jelly or the peanut butter, for example? If could be some water retention for some reason. I can go up three pounds on a weekend if my carb content goes up and it then takes me several days to get the water weight off.

Also, I think you are not eating enough protein, especially for a male. You want at least 500 g of fatty meat (since you do appear to be a meat eater from your menu example) a day. I would skip the almonds and peanut butter and just stick to vegetables. If you are very insulin resistant, the 40-50 grams of carbs could be too much for you at this point. It could be enough to cause water retention.

Please keep us updated.

(Andy) #5

Hi,
Thanks for the replies…

Obviously I am unsure what to do, as the macros I apparently need to follow were calculated on a website called ketokarma, so I wondered if I was putting on weight because I was eaten too much protein and not enough fat. However you have all said I’m not eating enough protein, so I’m confused.

Obviously I appreciate the carbs is higher, but it is very difficult to stay under 40g.

Do the macros that i have put up top, based on my age, height and weight, seem correct to you all?

(Robin) #6

Welcome to our forum. Lots of newbies like yourself and lots of very experienced and many who understand the science of it all.

I would be sure the veggies are not putting you over the 20g carbs. And it looks like you’ve decreased your calories each day…? This is not the time to limit your calories. Keep it as simple as you can… count those carbs (all of them) and eat until your satisfied.

It will take your body a while to trust you on this and to adjust to the change. I never tested for ketones. Just kept it under 20.

Try not weighing for a while. You will often see a change in your body and clothes before the scale acknowledges it. Instead, measure your waist, thighs, etc. but maybe only once a month. Scales and numbers can mess with our heads.

Once you are established, measure away… although you may not care about numbers numbers any more because you’ll be in the groove.
You got this!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

The key to a ketogenic diet is eating the right kind of foods, not limiting calories. The body’s hormonal response to what we eat is more important in determining whether we are in fat-storing or fat-burning mode. Fourteen hundred calories is starvation-level, and you are sending a signal to your body that there is a famine going on. It is responding by lowering your metabolism and hanging on to its resources for as long as possible.

So here’s the deal: eat much less carbohydrate. Keep your daily intake under 20 g, at least for now. That will lower your level of insulin, which is the primary fat-storage hormone. Fat has no effect on insulin, so all the energy you lost from cutting carbs can be replaced by fat, and you will need less than half the amount to get the same number of calories (1 g fat = 9 cal; 1 g carb = 4 cal). So you can afford to eat more food, and you will not raise your insulin. Believe it or not, it’s lowering insulin that allows us to lose fat.

Protein is a concern, so be sure to get an amount that feels right. A good rule of thumb is 7 g of protein per ounce of beef (similar for other meats; less for fish). So if you want 140 g of protein (which is on the high side for someone of your weight, but I picked it to make the arithmetic easy), that means 20 ounces (1 lb. 4 oz.) of meat. Add in enough fat to satisfy your hunger. Many forum members have found that their fat loss didn’t really get started until they started eating more, not less.

Welcome to life down here in the rabbit-hole, where everything “they” tell us about nutrition gets stood on its head. Fat is good, calories are far less important than what we eat. If you avoid sugar, starches, and grains, and instead eat real meat and minimal vegetables, you will be surprised at the results.

(Robin) #8

Ditto this!

#9

Just keep it simple, no more than 20 carbs a day. If you just stick with that, it will work for you. You can tweak later, once you are in ketosis and losing well.

#10

Little fat may be a problem (metabolism slowing due to too little energy intake. I don’t say you surely eat too little for that to happen, it’s just in general) but I doubt many gains fat through eating protein :slight_smile: It sounds almost unbelievable, only almost as in extreme cases it may interfere, it does have some insulin response and it’s fine for most of us, insulin isn’t the enemy and it’s tiny on low-carb normally but we humans just are so very different, almost every crazy case happens.
But normally no, you shouldn’t gain weight or not losing properly just because you eat 110 or 180 or even 250g protein…

I am curious what will happen later, I already wrote one week is just too short and our bodyweight fluctuates. A lot in some cases. Water comes and go…

Be a tad more patient. If lower-carb is really hard for you, keep this, maybe it will be low enough for you. But if you want to go lower, eat more very low-carb items, there are so many options… But I wrote about that already.

(Andy) #11

Thanks everyone, I will try my hardest to keep under 20g of carbs.

I’ve finished today with 131g of Protein,119g of Fat and 21g of Carbs so that’s a good day.

I’ve also got a headache which I assume is one of the side effects of initially your body going into ketosis or because ive only had one coffee today and i normally have 3-4.

(Robin) #12

I never stopped drinking coffee… all day long. With heavy cream and stevia.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #13

Could very well be caffeine withdrawal–been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, lol!

But it could also be insufficient sodium. Try putting a pinch salt in the palm of your hand and licking it up. If it tastes terrible, you’ve already had plenty of salt, so spit that salt out and don’t eat it, lol! But if it tastes good, lick it all up and wait five minutes. If you still have the headache, it wasn’t from lack of salt, but most likely from lack of caffeine!

Coffee is fine on a ketogenic diet, by the way. If you put anything in it, heavy cream or some other fat source is the way to go; avoid milk, whether whole, low-fat, or skim. Especially avoid sugar. Some people can do all right with an artificial sweetener, but there are reasons to avoid them, too, if you can.

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#14

I see zero reason to avoid milk myself but cream suits coffee way better IMO. A tiny milk in coffee is meh (it may trigger adding more though one can train themselves) but a tiny cream is wonderful as it’s way more rich :slight_smile: Even with bigger amounts, cream is less carby.
When I don’t have any milk or cream, some egg and butter works too :wink: But cream is still better.

I wanted to quit cream together with coffee but nope, it’s just way too good. The cream, I mean. And they together.

(Marianne) #15

I wouldn’t worry about your weight loss right now. You’re switching metabolic systems and it takes time for your body to make the adjustment and trust that you are going to feed it sufficiently.

Your initial loss may have been a lot of inflammation and not all fat. If you keep using your macros as a guideline and keeping the carbs as low under 20g/day as you can, you will lose weight. It’s important that you eat enough and don’t concern yourself with calories. Based on what you reported, it seems to me that you may not be eating enough, or of the right things. Eat clean one, ingredient foods. It’s okay if you combine them, but stay away from anything processed. Your meals should be sufficient and satisfying enough where you don’t need to eat a snack. I’d stay away from the nuts, sugar free jelly and peanut butter as they are calorie and carb dense and too much like trigger food (to me anyway) for what they give back metabolically.

Try to determine the clean choices you really enjoy. For me, that’s beef/pork/chicken/fish (if you like it), bacon, sausage, butter, low carb veggie choices, some cheese, etc. It’s okay if you eat more fatty protein than anything else (eggs, bacon, pork steaks, chicken thighs, beef, some cheese, etch. To keep the carbs low, I try to confine my vegetable consumption to dinner or lunch. I find that steamed vegetables are perfectly delicious with just salt and lots of butter. Cole slaw and salad are good choices, too, but use them as an enhancement to your protein. To help carry you easily to your next meal, try adding a cup of “butter coffee” with your breakfast or lunch and maybe a few pieces of bacon with either meal. That should help to hold you until you eat again.

For this to work long term, you have to be content and satisfied with your food to the point where you eat, are satiated and then don’t think about food until it’s time to eat again. Lastly, for me, I stayed off the scale as much as possible. It can really mess with your head. You will be able to tell how you are doing by your appearance and clothes. The scale is just a number and can fluctuate wildly based on nothing.

Good luck!

(Luke) #16

Hi Andy. Just keep going and try not to over think it. Stay off the scales for a bit and just enjoy the change. If you keep going everything will click soon and you won’t look back.

#17

[quote=“Corkyefes, post:1, topic:119319”]
Am I eating too much protein and not enough fat?[/quote]

Not a thing, you should be eating plenty of protein, and eating more fat doesn’t do much in most cases, as long as you’re eating enough.

Not really, but until you change (mentally) how you eat, it’ll seem that way.

Your macros are wrong for you, a macro calc is a starting point, it’s a literal guess, once you have a starting point you need to adjust for what actually works.

That’s why I like the MacroFactor app, it figures out your macros and self adjusts based on what actually happens, so you stay on track with whatever goal and timeframe you set.

No such thing, jelly is fruit and absolutely counts. Not having sugar doesn’t make it free.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #18

For a kinda dessert I eat a fat bomb. Would that work in this case? Or just eat another steak!

Coconut oil + peanut butter + Stevia + salt then freeze then add Coconut oil + cocoa powder and freeze. Enjoy (not too many)

#19

You can do either, just gotta count it!

#20

You want dessert?

Raspberries and soured cream.

Back when I was monitoring…that never kicked me out of ketosis. I shEt you not.