Newbie - Have I Plateaued?

(Rob ) #1

Thanks in advance for any recommendations you can provide. I am just finishing my 3rd week on Keto and thrilled I lost 10 lbs. in the first two weeks. I know weight comes off quickly in the beginning, but this week has been frustrating. I am definitely in Ketosis (Urine Strips) and keeping within my metrics. A normal day for me looks like this (I am using Carb Manager to track everything):
11G of 20G Net Carb Allowed
81G of 123G Fat Allowed
92G of 99G Protein Allowed

I mountain bike and that really seems to jump the weight loss, but when I didnt ride this week I gained weight:
Sunday - Mtb Ride
Monday Morning - down a whopping 1.8 lbs.
Tuesday - up .7 lbs.
Wednesday - up .8 lbs - I rode Weds night
Thursday - down 1.5 lbs.
Friday - up .7 lbs.

I know these arent huge numbers, but when I look at the entire week, I havent really lost anything. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Should I jumpstart with fasting? Will one 24 hour fast a week help? Should I be doing the 16/8? If fasting, does coffee count? My routine in the morning is coffee with a Tbsp of MCT Oil and a Tbsp of half and half. Not sure I will survive without that :slight_smile:

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

#2

A week isn’t long enough to be considered a plateau. You won’t lose weight every single week. Just keep going on as normal, and go by what your clothes tell you.

(Allie) #3

It’s not a plateau until you’ve seen no weight loss and no other changes in body composition (reduced measurements) for at least two months. You’re in the very early stages and there will always be ups and downs.

(PSackmann) #4

First, welcome to the forum, you will find a lot of good information and very smart people here.

What you may be experiencing is Post Induction Stall Syndrome. There is a very thorough thread on it in the Getting Started section: https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/post-induction-stall-syndrome-piss-questions/75719 . This is normal and experienced by almost everyone. Give yourself plenty of time to adapt to fat burning and become comfortable with this WoE before tweaking. And remember, the scale is not your friend!
KCKO (Keep Calm and Keto On)

#5

Welcome to the forum and to the ketogenic way of eating! It’s one of the best choices you can make in your entire life!

Personally I wouldn’t get into fasting yet, I’d consider it a bit early. You should just focus on getting fat adapted to maximize your metabolism with a ketogenic way of eating, and make weight loss (and fasting) easier later on. Keep things simple for now – ensure you get sufficient protein, eat fat to satiety (but don’t see it as a target you have to hit) and keep carbohydrates under 20g a day.

Everyone loses weight differently but stick with the above and you’ll definitely see results longer-term. Lots of ups and downs week-by-week (or daily if you want to measure every day) but over a long period of time you’ll likely see a downward trend.

Also try to take body measurements if you can or acknowledge obvious changes like changes in waist size, as the scale can often not change in a given week but you’ll realise you’ve lost a few inches somewhere and generally feel a bit more trim.

(Robert C) #6

Sorry to say but - you probably did not really lose 10 pounds (5 pounds a week is difficult - even for straight water fasting).
If you went back to your old way of eating right now - you would likely seem to gain most of that back.

Your body chooses to hold a different amount of water when dramatically changing diet.
For many, the switch to Keto lowers the bodies desire to hold on to water and there is a large initial drop.
But, if you are eating correctly for Keto - fat drop is very low and majority of a big initial drop is water.

Keto is for setting yourself up for success. To be able to burn off body fat as desired after adaptations have occurred. It might be best to put away the scale for a couple of months and use a blood ketone monitor or a tape measure (not too often) if you really want to measure something.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #7

Why are you under eating on fat?
This comes out to: 1141 calories
(81×9)+(92×4)+(11×4)

Are you just not hungry after eating that much, especially if you are exercising?

See this:

(Rob ) #8

I am content and not hungry so I am not over eating to hit those numbers. I did read it is “ok” that I am under on the fat numbers. Would you concur?

Thanks for eveyrone’s input and advice!

(Charlotte) #9

This is a pretty typical post of someone new to keto. They have high unrealistic expectations in the beginning and then stress over not meeting those expectations. Stress is bad for progress via cortisol. Keto is about having a healthy lifestyle and relationship with food and teaching your body to use a new source of energy. Weight loss is just a side effect. The less fat you have the slower and harder it is to lose fat. You’re still new and not fat adapted and that takes time. Keto requires patience. You definitely haven’t plateaued because you just started a process that can take months. Take a breath and go with the flow. Don’t try to micromanage your keto because it can be very counterproductive. Your body is going to do what it wants to do. Try letting go of all your expectations and accept that the weight will come off when it wants to, not when you want it to. The harder you try the more stress you put on yourself and the harder it becomes to see progress.

Through my keto, I have learned to think of my body as a whole different stubborn person and the harder I fight against it the more stubborn it gets. If I go with the flow and let it do what its going to do, the more progress I see. The only thing you control in the process is what you put into your body. Everything else is out of your hands, so just keep your carbs down and don’t over think it. We are our own worst enemies.

Yes its okay you don’t hit your macros. They are not law. Its a suggestion. Listen to what youre body is telling you instead of arbitrary numbers. Just try to keep your calories up so you’re body doesn’t think its starving, especially since you work out.

(Rob ) #10

Thank you! From LuckyDog to LuckyLucy - thanks :slight_smile:

(John) #11

I lost in weeks 1 and 2, stalled in weeks 3 and 4, then started losing again. It is very normal, and in fact typical, as your body adjusts / reacts to the changes in food intake and hormone levels.

(Robert C) #12

In the beginning of Keto you have to worry about under eating due to both poor satiety signaling (you probably haven’t had so much fat before) and you have to worry about your brain (this is probably the first way of eating (vs. diet) that you have encountered where NOT cutting calories is the goal).

To the second point - draining fat, smaller portions, drink water before the meal to be satiated earlier etc. - all of this classic diet thinking is turned on its head. You don’t want to drain fat, you want larger portions and you don’t want to fill up on water so you won’t snack (or just feel hungry) between meals.

But, these tricks - and there are many others - along with a badge of honor for overall low calorie intake - undermine your goal. You are trying to speed metabolism and take control of your hormones on Keto (not accidentally calorie restrict on Keto foods and slow your metabolism).

So - your statement:

Is much less true when starting out Keto - when having to do battle with your former dieting paradigms. Over consuming fat and still seeing better results will help convince Keto is the way to go (under consuming and seeing results but then a bounce will convince you otherwise).

Months out - after extended strict Keto - staggering lower fat periods will make your body burn fat (easily) - but for now, regularly low daily fat grams is probably a mistake.

(mole person) #13

"Newbie - Have I Plateaued?"

Not at all.

As @RobC has said, most of the weight loss in the first two weeks is water weight. Perhaps two or 3 pounds of it is actual fat.

So, over the third week you lost 3.3 lbs and gained 2.4 lbs. This leaves a net loss of 0.9 lbs of fat, which is very similar to what you experienced in your first two weeks. This is a very normal trajectory and should not be confused with a plateau. Just continue, you are doing just fine.

I see no reason to increase your consumption of fats when you are already reaching satiation unless you are also over-doing protein, which you are not. So, just keep calm and keep it going!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

What kind of weight did you gain? Was it water, muscle, bone density, fat? Can you tell?

Which leads to the opposite question, what type of weight are you hoping to lose? Water, muscle, bone density, fat? Which do you value more, body recomposition or a lower number on the scale? Sometimes these options are mutually exclusive.

The ketogenic diet is primarily about metabolic health. The point of eating as little carbohydrate as possible is to drastically lower your insulin level to the point where it is no longer causing inflammation and trapping fat in your adipose tissue. Carbohydrate, being little more than long strings of glucose molecules, has a strong insulinogenic effect on the body, as well as causing damage in its own right, when glucose is elevated in the bloodstream.

In addition to keeping carbohydrate low, be sure to get enough protein, especially since you exercise a lot. Recommendations range from 1.0 to 2.0 g/day/kg of lean body mass, and you should be eating at the high end of that range. Fat is the safe source fuel for all your activities, since of the three macronutrients, it is the only one with a negligible effect on insulin production (we have to have protein, so there’s no point in worrying about its effect on insulin). So to ensure that you are getting enough energy in, eat to satiety, which means eat when hungry, stop eating when no longer hungry, and don’t eat again until hungry again. This is the only way to ensure that you are getting enouh calories, since stinting calories will cause the body to hang on to stored fat and cut the metabolic rate. Even on a low-carb diet, the body will not increase BMR and free up excess fat to be metabolized, unless given an abundance of calories.