No weight loss, but clothes are looser?!

(Danielle) #1

I have been keto since March, and have lost over 70 pounds. However, over the last month, I have not lost any weight. I understand that plateaus are normal, and I am continuing with this way of eating with no problems. I am noticing, however, that although I am not losing weight, my clothes feel looser than they did a month ago.

I could understand this better if I was doing enough exercise to tone and/or develop muscle mass, but I don’t do much of that - some walking, some yoga, and maybe the occasional fitness class. Can anyone provide an explanation to this mystery?

#2

Danielle, I don’t have an explanation, but I know there’s somebody here who can. I’m glad you asked, it’s a bit of a mystery, isn’t it.

Pretty cool though, huh?

Congratulations on the weight lose, and loose clothes!

(kinda nervous about that sentence, I hope @xScarlet approves.) :slight_smile:

#3

it’s definitely a mystery… but if you’re getting smaller than there’s nothing to worry about, for sure! :slight_smile: Good job!

#4

Not a mystery! Keto improves body composition even with no (or minimal) exercise. You’re increasing lean mass and burning through fat, and since lean tissue is more dense, you’re getting smaller. That’s perfect! Congratulations :confetti_ball::tada:

#5

ha… @Madeleine (laughing at “definitely a mystery” and “not a mystery”). Now that I read what you said, yeah, that’s true… it’s not a mystery, but the exact science of each person’s body kind of is! Like… I feel like I am finally figuring myself out but still have “what the heck” moments all the time.

(Carl Keller) #6

If you still have a ways to go before your ideal weight, then it’s possible that you could be eating too much fat. Once we are fat adapted, we can try to not make fat a part of our every bite of food. For me this meant about a 25% reduction of fat intake and all it took to do this was reducing dairy and nuts. Just remember, we can burn more of our body fat if there’s less dietary fat to burn. What’s important for this to work is that reducing the fat doesn’t increase your hunger.

Also, consider dropping artificial sweeteners if you are using them. While many won’t directly affect blood glucose, they can still affect insulin production and this can complicate weight loss.

Another possibility might be stress is raising cortisol and this can prevent weight loss. You can also try smaller eating windows (IF) like from lunch to dinner to increase the time in which you insulin is inactive.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

You are not losing weight, because your body is adding muscle and bone density, both good things. The added weight from this is compensating for the weight of the fat you are still losing. Since fat is bulkier than muscle or bone, your measurements still shrink. How cool is that?

We talk about losing “weight,” but it’s really our fat we want to lose. Don’t let yourself be distracted by the number on the scale as long as your clothes keep growing larger, lol!

(Danielle) #9

Thanks for all the great replies. I’m interested by the idea of reducing the amount of fat now that I am fat adapted - I will definitely give that a try. I try to avoid artificial sweeteners wherever possible.

I’m not discouraged, because as I said, I am still seeing results, just not of the weight loss variety! It’s part of the learning process with this new way of eating - for years, we’ve been told that eating success is measured by weight and nothing else. I’m trying to reprogram my brain to include body shape and how I generally feel overall - these are all important measurements as well!

#10

HA! I knew I misspelled something!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: