This is my third week of keto. The first week I lost 9 pounds of water weight. I thought that I would continue to see the scale go down, but in week three I’m seeing the scale creep back up. I have been doing intermittent fasting for breakfast, and I have kept my carbs below 20 to 25 g every day. However, I haven’t been reaching my protein and fat goals. Is this causing me to gain weight again? Is weight gain in the second and third weeks normal? It’s increased by 3 pounds, I just need to understand what I’m doing wrong so I can change it. Can anyone help?
My weight is creeping back up what am I doing wrong?!
corduroyew
(Chris Robertson)
#2
What exactly do you mean by this? If you haven’t been hitting your goals are you eating too much or too little and how far off are you? There is a far bit of leeway with fat and protein but if they are too far off it can make a difference.
Also keep in mind that sometimes some people gain weight for the first few weeks while they are getting fat adapted so a small amount of weight gain at week 3 could be considered normal.
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#3
1/2 of the weight loss is probably water weight?
I cut 1/2 of what numbers I am looking at on the scale as actual weight loss? To get a rounding off idea as an average of actual adipose fat tissue shrinkage or loss (fully eradicated fat cell)? e.g. you lose 10 pounds (it is actually 5 pounds of fat that was actually burned)?
Sodium intake will make you appear heavier on the scale but YOU NEED the sodium, magnesium and potassium; an ABSOLUTE MUST or you will feel like sh#t.
Not been doing the ketogenic diet long enough to being adapted (keto-adapted/fat-adapted i.e. after 6 months?) to burning fat for energy vs. simply being in Ketosis?
Meaning the cells in the body are not yet fully utilizing the byproduct of fat when oxidized and turned into ketones by the liver for energy, YET, but starting to adapt to it?
Why Most Dieters ONLY Lose Water Weight: Glycogen is also carrying lots of extra water with an average person holding and extra 11 pounds of water. So when they exercise, they burn up the stored sugar calories, which is holding the water and they lose weight. This gives them false hope, because they think this is fat loss, when in fact, its only water weight loss.
Notes:
- Randle cycle: “…The inhibition of glucose oxidation causes fatty acids and ketone bodies to contribute to a glucose-sparing effect, which is an essential survival mechanism for the brain during times of starvation. …”
- Keto-adaptation and physiological insulin resistance “…Recap (part speculation): during starvation, muscle starts on ketones but then switches to fatty acids, in part, to prevent wasting and spare ketones for the brain. This is how ketones get so high, and it doesn’t happen when you’re eating [keto]. While on a ketogenic diet, muscle uses ketones and does so increasingly so after ketoadaptation, when mitochondrial capacity is up to snuff <– that’s the speculative bit; but it could explain: 1) why ketones routinely decline in humans & rodents after ‘ketoadaptation;’ and 2) how physical performance is restored (ie, Veech). …”
monstermash
(Maha)
#5
IMHO, 3 weeks isn’t very long to assess what you’re doing wrong, if anything. Your body takes time to get on board and there are probably lots of changes taking place that don’t prioritize weight loss. It’s important to keep in mind that your weight loss journey is unlikely to be linear. In the last year since I started, I had several weight gains, but stuck to the plan and overall I’ve lost or am losing (I’ve been stuck for about 3 months, but I think it’s finally moving again). Yes, it’s frustrating, but we have to be patient. If you’re close to your goal, you may have to have the patience of molasses rolling down a hill in winter. For women, we also have hormones to contend with. Try not to stress over this, as that can cause you to retain or gain weight. The one thing I would suggest is to wait a little longer to start IF. Let your body first adapt to your new way of eating, see how that goes, adjust your fat and carbs from there, and then introduce IF. I’d only make a change when you appear to be stalled - give it 3-5 weeks of status quo before introducing another change. Why? If you jump in head to toe, then your body adjusts to that and stalls, then where do you go? This is for life, so whatever you do, it must be sustainable. If you stall after implementing all the strategies at once and they no longer work, that could lead to even more frustration, and make it more difficult for you to stick with it. Again, this is just my opinion, but I do feel like slow and steady wins the race.
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#6
The essence of a ketogenic diet is as follows: keep carbohydrate consumption under 20g/day, eat a reasonable amount of protein (0.8-1.5 g/kg of lean body mass/day), and eat fat to satiety. The rest is commentary.
Commentary: Remember that your goal is to become fat-adapted, which usually takes 6-8 weeks, even though you enter ketosis fairly quickly after cutting back on the carbohydrate. Remember that the body responds to calorie restriction by reducing the basal metabolic rate and hanging on to its fat store. The way to combat that is to eat to satiety, so you can be sure your body is getting as much energy as it wants. At the beginning, don’t worry that you might be eating too much; that will sort itself out later. Remember that fat is the macronutrient that stimulates insulin the least, so it is the safest macronutrient to eat when you want to increase calories. Remember that women who have restricted their calories for a long time often put on lean muscle tissue once their bodies start getting enough calories, and that the weight of the new muscle can offset the weight of the lost fat, making the scale an unreliable indicator of progress. If your clothes start to hang more loosely on you, you will know that your ketogenic diet is having an effect.