Need help getting out of keto

(Liz Santiago) #1

I have been on keto for 3 +years , 4 in January actually. I lost 100 pounds in my first 2 but I have been stuck for the rest in the same weight and I need at least 60 more. I realized that after trying everything I could, Keto is not going to help me anymore so I want to give it a break. The problem is that I am scare because I have never cheated a single day in 2 years and 2 weeks ago, when I tried to introduce a little bit of more carbs I immediately gain weight. Do you have any ideas ? How can I quit without getting too much weigth? I am thinking of trying golo.

(Bob M) #2

Most of that weight is water weight. Your body is sucking in carbs and the water that comes with it.

I would try:

  • increasing or decreasing fat
  • increasing or decreasing protein
  • if you’re going to eat carbs, try eating the best carbs you can, such as sweet potatoes, things with some nutrition
  • try fruit
  • rotate your schedule: more fat/carbs/protein (chose any one or more) for a few days, then less fat/carbs/protein
  • if you’re eating dairy, try stopping
  • if you’re eating any keto junk food or sweets, try stopping
  • if you’re eating polyunsaturated fats, replace with saturated fats
  • if you’re exercising, try a TKD (targeted keto diet, where you eat carbs based on exercise) or a CKD (cycilic keto diet, where you eat high carb for a while then go back to keto)

I’m sure I could think of more.

Or you could just be happy where you are. Losing 100 pounds is amazing.

(Liz Santiago) #3

Thanks! I am not happy because I am still 200.

#4

I can relate but I still need to eat very low-carb to have any chances ever… Do you know what is your problem regarding fat-loss? Mine is easy: I always eat way too much fat, I have already figured out how to solve it, I do have good days here and there :upside_down_face: Timing matters too but very little dairy was the most important change for me. Leaner meat just annoys and bore me but I do that to some extent too.

I always did on/off keto so going off is nothing to me. I don’t gain weight when I do that anymore (I did in the first years) but it’s normal for people to hold more water off keto. If it’s sudden, it’s surely not fat :wink: Especially if it suddenly disappears when you go back to keto. So don’t worry about that. Only if you keep gaining weight as you are off keto.
But I really can’t say much without any info about how you change my diet when you don’t eat keto… Some items obviously aren’t good (individual which ones) but you surely have some idea about what to add.

#5

My two, possibly worthless cents:

Would you consider intermittent fasting and carb cycling to see whether this helps you? For example, skipping breakfasts and eating carbs one day, then keto four days, then carbs one day etc? This way, you would help your body re-adapt to the carbs, and the longer periods of fasting mighthelp you better absorb the carbs.

However, it seems difficult to me that you will be able to regularly eat carbs and not gain weight. You will likely gain the water weight that go with the carbs.

If you are happy with Keto, though (and you don’t say you aren’t) you may want to also examine what went wrong with your keto after the first 100 pounds as I can’t imagine anyone can have a plateau for two full years. Perhaps a reduction in calories, or extended fasting or, again, carb cycling (it helps some people) would be more beneficial than reverting back to carbs? As you have done so well for the first 100 pounds and want to lose more, I would think twice before goin gback to a normal carb diet.

(Allie) #6

Didn’t we discuss previously that you were eating way, way too low on the calories and had screwed up your metabolism? This is what you need to fix or no type of diet will help you.

(Liz Santiago) #7

Yes!! I started eating more and it did not do anything. I thought I would gain weight from adding more calories but I did not . So I am ready to move on and try something else.

(Liz Santiago) #8

I did all that too in these two years my weight won’t move no matter what. Its is 2-3 up an down. The only time it moves it is for gaining when I eat more carbs.

(Jenna Ericson) #9

I’ve gone back and forth between being keto and not and found it very difficult to find something else that doesn’t cause me to gain a lot of weight. If I try low fat and high carb, I gain the most weight and feel the worst (tired, slow, depressed, etc.), but I suspect this might work if I ate about 5 small meals a day and made sure to do some type of exercise after every meal. Things also don’t go well if I am too restrictive with calories. Fasting can be okay, but low calorie is not sustainable for most people.

The best thing I’ve found is to eat at least 2000 calories a day and to make sure to stay consistent with that number by not varying from day to day. When I would eat less I wouldn’t loss much weight, but if I ate more again the next day, I would gain much more. I would recommend eating moderate to high protein, maybe between 80 and 150 grams, between 150 and 300 grams of carbs and between 70 and 90 grams of fat. That amount of fat seems to tamp down insulin enough that the carbs are not as harmful. I wouldn’t try too hard to avoid things like gluten or wheat because you kind of get conditioned to these things if you eat them enough, but would choose the higher protein or fiber versions of those products. I have never been able to have the same mental clarity as with keto, but you can certainly feel more satisfaction from food to balance that. I would try to eat low saturated fat, more monounsaturated fat, and a balanced amount of omega 3s to omega 6s. Avocados, salmon, olive oil, nut butter, and chia seeds are good as sources of fat. I am able to maintain weight on this, but the nice thing is that if you add in exercise, especially cardio, you can use that as the lever for weight loss. Kind of complicated, but you get used to it, like keto. That’s what I would recommend anyway!

(Joey) #10

As such, I would strongly suggest you adhere to what you’ve learned firsthand. Continue to avoid the dietary carbs.

You’ve gotten some insightful suggestions above… But if eating more carbs is what you mean by “getting out of keto” then it’ll be no surprise if you wind up making reaching your target weight goals harder, not easier.

Perhaps I simply misunderstood what you mean by getting out of keto? :man_shrugging:

(Liz Santiago) #11

I mean eating more balanced

(Liz Santiago) #12

thank you !

(Liz Santiago) #13

so wht did you do the first time?

(Liz Santiago) #14

what do you mean by dietary carbs?

(Joey) #15

Dietary carbs refers to carbs we eat in our diet.
Come to think of it, I guess that’s pretty much the only way we get them. :wink:

#16

What do you mean? The first time I did keto? I ate a lot and stayed fat just on my previous woe… But I did a very different keto back then, it’s better now. Weight wise it’s the same, I never lose or gain, no matter my diet :frowning:

Why do you need to go out of keto to eat balanced? I eat balanced all the time, well probably less so off keto, definitely on keto and very much on carnivore. Maybe balanced means different thing for us.

(Liz Santiago) #17

I just think my body needs a break from Keto. I have done many things to try and keep losing and I don"t. All my life I have been from 200 to 250 except when I got to 300 because I just gave up dieting. This is the first time in my life as an adult that I have been in the same weight for 2 years . So, I don’t know I just feel that I need to try something else. I just don’t know how to do it without gaining weight.

(Joey) #18

I fully understand and respect the idea of changing something up, since stasis is not where you want to be.

Clearly, refraining from eating carbs has served you quite well thus far. Congratulations on such meaningful progress!

As such, it seems illogical to expect that going back to eating what wasn’t good for you will address your current concerns about “stalling” in your progress.

I’d suggest trying other ways to make further progress (some of which were suggested above and elsewhere throughout this forum when folks hit plateaus) rather than returning to eating carbs (which is what I assume you mean by “a break from keto”), as you’ve already experienced being a bad choice for your well being.

My $0.02.

(Harriet) #19

Why don’t you post up an average day’s meals and portion sizes? All anyone can do is guess with the amount of information you’ve actually given us. Otherwise just do what you plan on doing, start Golo, stop keto, don’t touch the scale and follow their plan for a couple months.

Frankly, IMO, if weight has always been an issue you have to count calories on keto, particularly if you’re a woman, more so as we age. I’ve always had weight problems, from about 5 years old by 7th grade I was about 235. Now I’m menopausal, hypothyroid and can’t exercise due to chronic pain, to lose on keto I have to incorporate IF and count calories, otherwise the scale stays stuck.

#20

You eat carbs, you’re out of ketosis, that simple. Of course you gain weight, you’re walking around with depleted muscle and liver glygoen. When that gets reloaded, the scale notices. It’s not fat, it doesn’t matter.

But with that said, Keto by itself doesn’t make you lose weight, no shortage of people get themselves fatter on it. Switching to different WOE’s isn’t going to make any difference for you if you’re eating above what your metabolic rate is capable of burning. You need to track with a tracker that figures out your TDEE like MacroFactor.

“Weight” doesn’t matter. Bodyfat % does.

That’s scammy crap. Spend your money on MacroFactor and adhere to it, whether Keto or not. You’ll lose when it gets a hold of your metabolic rate.