No real weight loss in last 9 of 11 days


#1

I started with a 61h complete fast (no food, no beverage) and lost 9 pounds.
I have continued “intermittent fasting” (eating only during 3-6h window). Diet of mainly meat (steak, pork chops, kielbasa and unbreaded chicken wings) with buttered broccoli and Caesar salad with avocado. Light snacking (2 x 3oz bags of pork rinds over these last 9 days) in same 3-6h window.
Beverages have been limited to unsweetened tea and sparkling water.
Keto strips are very dark, indicating “large Ketosis.” Testing 3-4 times each day.

Started at 219 pounds and have been 209-212 over last 9 days.

What is wrong? TIA


(Susan) #2

Welcome to the forum, Hoohoolian =).

When you did your fast, did you drink water? You are meant to drink a lot of water (over 64 ounces during a fast).

It is generally more successful if you keep to 20 grams of carbs or less, no sugar (and for some no artificial sweeteners at all either), no processed foods (your pork rinds are guilty of being that), snacking is usually not recommended, best to stick to one or two meals, with only water, or plain coffee/tea with it, high healthy proteins and high healthy fats, and lots of water.

Maybe if you tell us more about your height/age/gender that can help determine what you might be doing wrong as well =).


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #3

Probably nothing is wrong. Weight/fat loss is not a linear progression. There are ups, downs and plateaus of varying periods of time along the way. It’s the long-term overall trend that matters, not the day to day.

There are others on this forum who can address any specific concerns or questions you have. Many have lost hundreds of pounds successfully and kept them off long-term with nutritional ketosis. I’m sure you will manage to arrive at your own goals with a little perseverance and advice.

Best wishes.


#4

Thanks for your prompt response. As I said, complete fast: no food, no beverage.

I would suspect the Caesar dressing would have some carbs, but not anything close to 20g. As for the pork rinds, I suspect the small daily amount is not significant.

I assumed that stating my diet and that the keto test strips being in the very dark range indicates that I am not consuming many sugars or carbs. Last night, 9pm: I had a 12oz ribeye, 1/2lb of Broccoli, butter, med Caesar salad (no croutons) with 1/4 avocado. 30oz tea. Sometimes I trade the steak for unbreaded wings or a pork chop. 4 hours earlier I had 5oz of kielbasa as lunch or a snack.

I am drinking enough tea and seltzer to urinate 3-4 times per day. probably consuming 80-90oz of these each day.

I am 50yo, 5’10", male

I can maintain this weight without keto. I had a trip to Singapore that is always reason to get a little bit gluttonous; suddenly I am up 10 pounds, LOL!


#5

Ketosis is no guarantee of weight loss.

Ketosis is driven by carb restriction. Weight loss is driven by caloric restriction and is slow and non-linear. For many, ketosis just makes caloric restriction easier because hunger is no longer being driven by carbs and insulin.

Most short-term weight fluctuation is going to be a simple change in water retention and digestive tract contents, which can be large early on.

I started with a 61h complete fast (no food, no beverage) and lost 9 pounds.

You probably lost water and emptied out your digestive tract.

When I used to have long sessions at the YMCA every morning, I would sometimes drop up to 20 pounds in that 3 or 4 hours. Even though I hydrated throughout.


(Carl Keller) #6

Most of us spent decades damaging our metabolism and hormones by eating a highly processed SAD diet. Expecting to reverse that damage in a few weeks is not very realistic. Keep eating like you are eating and give it some more time. Good things are happening even if you can’t measure them on a scale.


#7

My initial thought was if you were dry-fasting for that period of time, you dehydrated yourself, you’re not losing now due to re-hydrating which is exactly what should happen - you may even gain something back.


(Brian) #8

Nothing is wrong. Keep on going. You just started. Things take a while. Now if you had said 9 to 11 weeks, maybe we’d be wondering why the weight hasn’t changed much.

In the first couple of weeks, you’ve changed the fuel your body is using. And your body will go through changes as to what it needs to hold onto, mostly water wise. It will start burning onboard fat more easily as you adapt to a keto style of eating. But even that is limited in just how much you can burn in a day. So be patient.

:slight_smile:


#9

Thanks for all the responses.
I was not expecting such a long period being required to drop 20 pounds considering I have easily cut my calorie intake by half and got a jump start into large ketosis. Yes, the dry fast certainly was a lot of water, however, I was never thirsty and am not drinking more than usual.

This is not a lifestyle I can live with despite being a major carnivore; I am too fond of my wine collection and travel too much to abstain from some of the great-tasting carbs like my new pet breakfast: roti prata.
I can hit it for a week or two at a time, but it’s not like I am cleansing McDumalds and Coke (or even worse, diet coke) from my system. I am simply cutting out proper old-world breads, delicious summer fruits and potatoes/pasta/noodles/rice.


(Susan) #10

Keto is not a typical “Diet” that you can jump on and off of to lose weight; though, and it kind of sounds like you are expecting that from it.

It is a lifestyle change… and it is a slow and steady one at that. Some people can be strict Keto and not cheating and not lose weight for even a month or more… and if you don’t stay with it after… and just do what you want, you will gain it back, it won’t stay off…

From the post you made above, it doesn’t look like you are really looking to live the Keto way, and that you are just looking for a quick fix to drop 20 pounds is all.


#11

Yes, Momof5. And it has worked for me 3-4 times in the last 5-6 years. This is the first time I have stalled. I am able to keep the weight off until I get with a group on a trip and start eating more than I should for a month or two. Then I pay the piper with a month or two of reduced intake.


(Susan) #12

You will end up heavier and heavier over time… that is what happens when we Yo-Yo diet… I know… because I did it., until I decided enough of that. I have to lose this now and not go back ever to carbs, because I want to get slim and healthy and fit, (I have only lost 37 pounds so far and have a long way to go… ) but I have been extremely underweight… and now am very overweight… and I have been inbetween lots tooo… you have to get off the Merry go Round and make a commitment to the Keto lifestyle if you actually want to be healthy for life… and not have a pattern of lose/gain, etc. If you keep up that pattern… you will gain more and more over time…that is what happens… I know from experience, and a lot of others can tell you that too. You have to say good bye to Carbage and hello to Keto =). Just stating the facts =-). I am sorry if you didn’t want to hear that, but that is what happens to our bodies when we Yo-yo diet.


(mole person) #13

Yo-yo dieting, aging, and the Standard American diet all lead to worsening metabolism. Every time you do keto it will get a bit harder to lose the weight. Some people, after decades of this, can take months to even lose their first pounds. Others will find that keto might stop even working at all and they have to do regular fasting to get their metabolism stabalized to where keto will begin to work for them again.


(Carl Keller) #14

Dr. Michael Eades says that our body gets wise to our tricks and that losing weight with LCHF becomes harder and harder, the more times we do it.

The body says, ‘Well, here we go again with another week of this nonsense. Let’s hold steady on and we’ll be back to our regular high-everything diet within a week. Let’s not go into starvation mode yet and starting getting rid of our fat.’ What you will find after a few turns of this cycle is that although the first time through with low-carb you may have lost six pounds the first week, the forth time through you will lose almost nothing the first week. Then the doubt creeps in. And you begin to wonder if the low-carb diet will really work for you. It will, but you’ve got to get past the body’s diet memory for it to.

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2009/01/16/why-is-low-carb-harder-the-second-time-around/