Lots of good information. Thanks
While that is a high blood ketone reading, the levels are hard to draw conclusions from. High levels (even in blood) often means ketones not being used efficiently. Also people on only 0.5 readings can be fully in ketosis with all the benefits while someone on 5 is not. The level or efficiency of ketosis is not really given from that reading. Fat adaptation is a long process up a sliding scale which at certain points, becomes perceptible to the brain. Initial ketosis, efficient fat adaptation, exercise endurance, etc. You appear to have a good dose of the the early benefits so that’s great. While it is plausible that you are having some keto and some placebo effects (the mind is a powerful thing), let’s assume it’s all keto.
We’ll say you are sufficiently fat adapted to be in the low appetite phase where you are using body fat stores instead of food. Why aren’t you losing weight? You could have hit a set point where insulin sensitivity prevents fat burning but it seems pretty soon on your journey for that. My idea would be that you are burning fat, but given what a magically complex metabolic engine we have, others things are operating that are ostensibly sabotaging your scale victories. These ‘other things’ are even more complex for women (if God’s a woman, she hasn’t made it easy for you
). A classic compensation is that the fat cells, which are rarely destroyed except by apoptosis (programmed death after about 10 years), can be filled by water after being emptied of fat. These can hold the H2O for many weeks, when at some point in the future, triggered by something still unclear, you get a whoosh and the water empties out in a few days/couple of weeks and you lose illogical amounts of weight.
It is still possible that you have lowered your metabolism but I’m not sure how common it is to be getting keto benefits while starving. Keep doing what you are doing for a while longer and see if you get your whoosh. If it doesn’t come in another month, maybe shake things up then.
On the exercise front, it is its own reward, BUT it isn’t of much use to the weight loss goal. The evidence is that lighter/moderate exercise isn’t much use in burning far or building muscle and is more likely to signal the body that it needs more energy rather than burn its stores. If you were doing the kinds of intense exercises (HIIT/tabata/sprints, heavy/slow weights, etc.) that seem to get major benefits, you wouldn’t be able to do it every day. Do what you are doing if it makes you feel good but don’t sweat it if you don’t from a weight loss POV.
The 2000 calories will probably come into play eventually when you lose more weight and/or hit an insulin resistance plateau so keep it in mind that what you are doing now is not a ‘normal’ lifetime calorie regime. Hopefully, you’ll feel it when you need it, so don’t be afraid to eat more.