Need some guidance & reassurance

(Joe T. ) #1

Hi guys, complete newbie here. I started keto last Monday, and was DELIGHTED to go from 211lbs down to 205 in the first four days! I was thinking, “wow, this is amazing!”. Well, not so much…

It’s now Friday of week 2, and I’m 207. So essentially I’ve been fooled into thinking that kind of rapid progress would continue. And adding insult to injury, I’ve gained back 2 lbs. It’s really discouraging because I’m VERY strict on carb intake, and I used to really love carbs - pizza, bread, garlic knots, etc. I feel like nearly 2 whole weeks of depriving myself of ALL of that and sticking to the diet religiously isn’t really rewarding me that much…4 lbs in two weeks isn’t great IMO. I’ve limited myself to one or two peices of toast in the morning with my eggs, and avoid carbs altogether for the rest of the entire day.

I also eat very high fat - lots of bacon and high fat meats like salami, pepperoni and ham. Are the high calories killing me here? I’ve been dipping my chicken in ranch, generously…I know it’s very high in calories, but I thought that didn’t really matter with this diet, as long as I stay LCHF??

Am I supposed to count carbs in cheese and other non-starchy foods toward my daily limit if 20-30 grams?? I’m potentially doing this all wrong because I’m only counting carbs from bread/starch, which essentially isn’t even counting at all, because like I said I have my toast in the morning and zero bread carbs for the rest of the day.

I could really use some guidance and reassurance!

Thanks!
~Joe

(Jacob Wagner) #2

Yes. The reason the @dudes say 20g instead of zero is that most keto food has some incidental carbs in it, like your cheese.

On keto you won’t reliably loose weight until you are fat adapted, which usually takes 6-8 weeks. Once you are adapted your body will burn body fat to supply at least part of your daily energy needs (assuming you are over the fixed weight for your base insulin levels).

In the meantime, “eat fat to satiety,” might mean that you eat enough for your weight to be stable or to move slowly in either direction.

Your initial burst of weight loss is likely do to burning down you glycogen (sugar) storage in your body, which is a good sign that you aren’t eating too many carbs.

Keep calm and keto on, you are doing great.

–Jacob

(Ernest) #3

You have toast in the morning? Get rid of that.
No buts, get rid of that. No no no get rid of that.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

Some people can get into ketosis eating higher levels of carbohydrate—Dr. Phinney himself considers under 100 grams daily to be ketogenic—but a lot of people are so insulin-resistant that they need to be much stricter than that. One slice—one slice!—of bread can contain anywhere from 16 to 24 grams of carbohydrate, which is close to or even over the limit of 20 grams daily that we recommend on these forums.

If you want to get into nutritional ketosis, you need to really limit your carbohydrates, keep your protein intake moderate (around 1.0 gram per kilogram of lean body mass daily), and eat fat to satiety; i.e., until you’re not hungry. Fat is the only macronutrient that doesn’t stimulate insulin secretion, and any level of insulin in your blood above a certain minimum will prevent your body from burning fat and will force it to store the fat instead.

So count all your carbs, watch your protein, eat lots of lovely fat, keep calm, and keto on. You’ll be fine.

(KetoCowboy) #5

You might also want to google “Glycogen” to get a sense of why you lost 6 pounds so rapidly when you started.

The better you understand the biochemistry behind ketogetnic weight loss, the less frustrated/confused you will be when you deplete your glycogen stores by avoiding carbs and replete them by eating toast every day.

#6

This is why people say throw out the scale. Have you taken body measurements? You will likely see results over time with those, if you get all sugar and starch out of your diet. Your clothes will fit more loosely. Relax and take the time to adjust to and improve your keto way of eating. Pay attention to how you feel, how much energy you have, how sharp your mind is. There are so many benefits to keto, including weight loss (4 lbs in 2 weeks is great!). Keep calm and keto on.

(John B) #7

It’s hard when you are stuck, especially when you are not sure why. I’m going to agree with some of the other comments about the toast. I do missing having it with my eggs, but 2 pieces can get you to 30g (depending on the brand I suppose) and then you’re done for the day. Best advise, don’t get up!

(Brian) #8

If you think you just HAVE to have toast, go poking around the internet and find some highly rated recipes for keto bread of some kind and make some. It will probably be made with almond, coconut, flax or a combination of them rather than wheat. It won’t be quite like your wheat bread toast but it might be enough to make you feel like you’ve eaten your toast and still not give you a great big carb load for just a single piece of toast.

Something else that I’ve used that’s similar to bread is naan. It’s more like a pancake in texture and shape, at least the way I make them, but can be great with a lot of things. I’ve used naan like a person might use a tortilla. I’ve heard of others using it almost like sandwich bread.

There are options that won’t kill your macros! You just have to find ones that you like.

(Joe T. ) #9

Thanks everyone for the support and feedback! I’m sticking with it and I’m not giving up. I’ve since cut out having toast with my eggs in the morning, now I just have to watch/count all the other carbs in the other things I’m eating, like cheese and nuts…I’m finding it can add up quickly! I really need to find something I can snack on that has little to no carbs. Any suggestions?

(Carpe salata!) #10

Water.

Seriously, once you are fat adapted you won’t need to be snacking. Meanwhile, maybe jerky, a boiled egg, salami, bacon…

(Brian) #11

Ditch the snacks. Eat meals. If you really need three meals, eat three and nothing in between except water. Two meals, no snacks, would be even better. Your body needs time in between meals for the hormones to get back to normal and snacking never lets them do that.

Once you’re fat adapted, you’ll find you are able to skip a meal and hardly notice, maybe more than one. Once fat adapted, your body has a perfectly fine fuel source, your own fat, and you don’t have to panic when the next meal doesn’t come on time. It’s really a very nice place to be.

Some people do have more trouble giving up the snacks than others. For me, it was a non-issue. For my wife, it took a while longer, probably into the second month before she pretty much left them behind.

Hang in there. Or as they say here, KCKO.

#12

Here is a good overview of what to expect

(Ernest) #13

Do you need to snack?

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #14

Hi,

Fat bombs rescued me when I started. I literally ate bacon and brie anytime I was hungry. I got keto rash the second week, Keto flue the third week. Weighed in 12 lbs down (5.3 of fat).

Since then I’ve listened to my body and stopped eating by habit and more by how I felt. Nothing worse than ordering a rib-eye with hollaindase, taking two bites and then realizing you’re full! Packed up the food and ate it for breakfast the next day.

I don’t weigh or measure myself. I visit the nutritionist every three weeks and she does the weighing / measurements for me.

Take a break from the pressure of the “why” and just enjoy the day. Throw yourself into something pleasurable that isn’t about your meals or weight. The distraction can allow you to pass the time while Ketoing On!
Good luck.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #15

Whole-milk or double-cream yoghurt, buttered Brie, buttered cheddar, bacon and bacon juice (let it cool first, lol!), avocado, pecans, . . . .

(Carpe salata!) #16

Go easy on the milk. Two small glasses 200ml of milk is 20g carbs. And skimmed milk is slightly higher

Oh wait … yoghurt. As you were :slight_smile:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #17

:grin:

(Doodler for @KetoKailey) #18

Don’t give up, Joe! I’m new here, too. What they said, and remember you didn’t gain all the excess weight overnight.

We’re in this together as a group, for the long haul.

We can do this!

(Ernest) #19

How are you doing so far, @Siciliano ?

(Joe T. ) #20

Hey everyone, thanks for the continued support! You guys are awesome. :+1:

I continue to be frustrated because I’m still stuck at 205lbs after 2 1/2 weeks in (6lbs total loss). I’ve cut out carbs altogether for the past week, concentrating on fat and protein, and I’m still at 205. I’m trying to heed everyone’s advice, but it’s discouraging. At this point I’ll be ecstatic if I can just get to 204! lol

I think I’m gonna have to get even more disciplined and only eat from 12pm to 8pm, which is technically a 16 hour daily fast. And I’ve been told to greatly increase my fiber intake… I’ll try that also. Anything to get over this hump… I know it’s not good to weigh so frequently, but it’s a mental thing for me - I like to see the fruits of my labor paying off.

Once I break 200lbs it’ll be a huge victory, and I’ll be even more motivated to push forward. Right now I guess it’s just baby steps until I get to that goal. It’s funny I was 175 and so fit just a few years ago, but I have a LOT less time now so it’s tough. Oh well, situations change, I’ll just have to adapt to get back to that 175!!