Walking 3-4 miles twice a day. HIIT 30 mins a day. 1000-1200 calories a day. 20-30 carbs a day (closer to 20). Plenty of water. Getting keto flu.
Coming from where I was, it seems impossible that the human body could NOT lose any weight with such a dramatic change in life style.
I’m not sure what it is I have to do to see the scale move. I keep hearing about how “weight just falls off” and “ I couldn’t believe how easy it is.” I’m about to quit and accept that my natural body type is chubby and nature will ensure that no matter what I do.
Any advice?
(Tried IF for two weeks before I started keto and saw absolutely no change as well. I feel like that is a total scam)
Well you’re starving yourself while pushing your body to the limit and expecting it to not only perform, but completely change its fuel source which takes time… ease up, eat enough real food, keep carbs minimal, increase salt, allow your body to adjust.
I should add in that I have a bit of an issue with cholesterol. So I’m doing sort of a Mediterranean keto.
Also (and this has been a bit of a challenge), my wife is a bit of a health nut. She has been kinda doing the meal prep (she doesn’t work so she offered to spearhead). She has a major issue with fat intake and insists that healthy fats are only allowed. I keep telling her that fat is the most important metric behind carbs but each gram of fat is a battle. She even suggested that the 16 almonds I eat throughout the day was the cause for my stagnation.
OMG forget fat-loss, eat more! Unless you have tons of extra fat and maybe even a good doctor told you it’s fine…
SOME people has very oddly working bodies. Zero kcal, sure, you lose fat (and muscle), it’s inevitable. 1000-1200? Some people managed maintenance with it even if they are fat. Amazing and tragic. But they have some serious problem, you probably would know about it…
2 weeks are little. Even when eating little, many of us just can’t lose much fat during this time WHILE the body may hold more water for zillion reasons. It’s just a too short time to see what happens. But if you shock it with low-key starvation, well that can be a reason to see no results too. Maybe your body is super good at metabolism slowing and it does it quickly in order to survive this famine. (I would lose fat nicely if I ate like that as my body hates slowing down metabolism quickly and much - but I wouldn’t care, I HATE starvation. It doesn’t matter if I am ever hungry during it, it goes against my health-consciousness. Okay, if you are very determined and know what you are doing and it works, very short term low-cal may not be something I can’t understand. Still against it but well, it’s your life and it won’t damage a healthier person if it’s short.)
Oh yes, it’s stupid that IF necessarily causes fat-loss. Why would it? Same with keto. I can do keto IF for years (I did but had short off times. but those weren’t the problem, my energy balance was), it makes no change, I stay still fat due to overeating fat, it’s very understandable.
Some people say certain items interfere. So it’s not even just the macros…
Yeah it’s not true for everyone. I could never lose fat on keto+IF at all except when I managed to eat little in my early carni times or OMAD but they were negligible as very short term. It’s just not enough. I need to be close to carnivore AND a super tiny eating window (it depends on the day but 1-3 hour may work) or else I just won’t lose any fat for sure. My body doesn’t waste precious energy.
It matters how much you need to lose and how much food you need for satiation… I easily lost fat when I was heavier (way before keto). I need less from really satiating food. I EASILY could do massive overeating on keto choosing the wrong items. And in the first several years I couldn’t eat exactly the right items. But almost everyone is quicker or more controlled. You probably just need some tweaking.
So it’s not THAT simple for everyone, at all.
You are new at keto? I suppose it is. Don’t even worry about weight until you get fat adaptation at least, it’s a new thing for you, a huge change for your body, let your body and mind get used to keto, don’t restrict yourself very severely… Keto is a big enough restriction, I couldn’t even do it without my low-carb years… But then it went smoothly. I just missed my vegs but it’s me, it still was doable until fat adaptation and that changed some things.
It’s individual. But 1000-1200 kcal is too little for everyone except unusually tiny individuals and other rare cases.
What’s the problem with it? I try to avoid unhealthy fats myself. Well IDK what she thinks about what is healthy, people are very much divided regarding that…
Sounds like you both need to forget everything you’ve previously been told, and that includes the cholesterol issue, and re-learn a healthy way of doing things. Fats are not bad.
What’s your height / weight?
I’m 5’ 3" around 130lbs and would starve on 1200 calories. Today, just quickly working it out based on what I know I’ve eaten so far, I’m at just short of 2500 calories (not including the coffees with full fat milk & coconut oil) and it’s not even 2pm.
I think that is your problem. When you do Keto, do Keto. Not Mediterranian Keto (how does that even look?) Just plain Keto. Get a list of allowed foods, watch the carbs, forget the calories and cholesterol and all that. The cholesterol has long been de-bunked, ingesting it does not affect the count in your body.
I suspect you are not losing because you are not doing Keto. Keto will make you healthy, normal cholesterol, blood pressure, all those things come into balance. I have lost 120 pounds and am thriving, no more pills. Your wife means well, but Keto has to be used the way it is designed. Some people get away with a few more carbs, but if it’s weight loss you want, stick with basic Keto. You will eat plenty, feel no hunger and feel great.
I’m sorry you’re discouraged. Didn’t read through others’ responses, but I’m sure they are going to say similar. I think your problem is that you are eating to a significant calorie deficit under sedentary circumstances let alone for the amount of exercise you are doing. You’re body is actually slowing your metabolism to slow the rate you are burning the sparse amount of calories. I think that is why you are not losing and also why you are experiencing keto flu. You are doing well keeping the carbs low.
I know it is a different mindset than what we’ve always learned with conventional dieting, but I’d start out eating three decent sized meals a day. Don’t snack or eat anything processed. Get your fat and protein macros and meet or exceed those every day. Eat and enjoy your food. Don’t count calories. Exercise if you enjoy it, but don’t use it as a strategy to calorie purge and speed up your weight loss.
I had 80 lbs. to lose when I started and felt hopeless. I dove in from the beginning and didn’t cheat. I ate and trusted what people said. The weight came off relatively slowly for the first month or so and then it was pretty significant after I became fat adapted and my metabolism had adjusted.
Good luck to you. Hang in there. I hope we hear more about your journey.
If you are eating a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet, then you can safely eat to satiety. In other words, eat when you get hungry, eat enough to satisfy your hunger, and stop eating when you are no longer hungry. No calorie counting needed.
There are two processes that this way of eating relies on. The first is that restricting carbohydrate lowers our insulin level. This unblocks the activity of the appetite hormones, and it also takes the body out of fat-storing mode and puts it in fat-burning mode, instead.
The second is that our metabolism adjusts to the amount of food we eat. When we restrict calories, the body thinks there is a famine going on, so it lowers our metabolism and conserves resources, especially fat. When we eat abundantly, the body revs up the metabolism and starts using more energy, not less.
In practical terms, you may find at first that eating to satiety involves eating a large amount of food. Just keep on. Most people find that one day, their appetite suddenly drops, and they don’t need nearly as much food. But the body appears to need that period of over-abundance in order to settle at the right level of intake. But fat metabolism will still be revved up, and you will be able to use both the fat you eat and some of the excess fat you have stored to fuel all your energy needs.
Now, some people find that their appetite hormones never work properly, but give eating to satiety a good try. If you don’t experience a drop in appetite by the end of four weeks, come back, and we’ll help you sort things out. But bear in mind that you can’t fear fat on a ketogenic diet. The body’s two main sources of energy are carbohydrates and fat. Eating too much carbohydrate puts us in fat-storing mode, but eating fat allows us to burn fat.
Carnivores force-feeding themselves fat to get some high fat/protein ratio may disagree…
Of course, you always say to eat to satiety, not beyond (it still may be overeating, of course, some of us are just that special and skilled), I just say that one may gain on extreme low-carb too. Of course, it makes sense, it would be very messed up if it wasn’t the case… Sometimes one needs to gain fat, at least that case should be handled on keto.
But I believe keto is great for maintenance for many. Me included. I just stay fat eating at maintenance, losing is way harder than simply not overeating. And we are all different. Some of us just can’t easily eat little enough to lose. It’s even true for you, you aren’t slim either. Some of us totally refuse to stay a bit fat (I don’t talk about minuscule things and various tastes, I have about 40lbs to lose. not extremely much but significant) and I can understand it as I am the same.
BUT it is easily imaginable the OP will have an easy time and quick, big success like so many ketoers. First one just should do keto properly and not worrying about fat-loss after some days or weeks.
I hear you all about the calorie level. It’s tough. The mindset has ALWAYS been “fat is bad.” My wife will NEVER let that go. It’s a challenge.
I’ve been adding calories in and feel like I’m at or above about 1600/day.
I’ve started to see some movement on the scale. Remembering now, it usually takes my body 2-3 weeks to respond to dieting. I’m not sure why but it seems like it happened every time (and I forget every time) - lose 5 lbs in the first week, then slowly gain that all back and then it starts to come off 1-2 lbs a week in the 3rd week. Frustrating putting in that work and not seeing anything for so long. I imagine this is where people stray from diets so much. Anyone know the science behind the delay in progress at the start?
Now my question is …… net vs total carbs. I see sites like “kristyketolife” making all kids of stuff with carb friendly breads like “kutacarb” etc. Those have like 18 carbs but 12 fiber and they call it 6. That seems like BS to me. And if it is, I’ve just blown my total daily carb intake with 1 serving. What’s the word on that stuff?
Anyway, thanks to all you guys. Appreciate your help.
It’s a powerful technique. Honestly. It’s parts of the method in restoring metabolic health.
I cook with Ghee or Tallow, eat the fattiest cuts of meat then spread butter on that and mix in a double cream sauce. And do that kinda thing twice a day. And lose weight. Love food
Don’t fall for it. Even Dr. Westman promotes using total carbs instead of net carbs. If you eat fatty meat, low carb veggies, and maybe a little nuts or cheese you should be fine. All those low carb keto treats are still junk.
Convince your wife to let you do keto as it is meant to be for at least six months. Six months is not going to kill you. Maybe even get a blood test now at the start and six months from now to see if your HDL and triglycerides are improving. If you are pre-diabetic or diabetic you will definitely see improvements with your HbA1c in that period of time. Then you will have proof that the keto way of eating is not only NOT going to kill you but even make you healthier. (Btw, don’t test your lipids before six months, they do get wonky as you get fat adapted.)
Also, definitely check out the Diet Doctor link posted above. They are a wonderful source of information with all kinds of great articles and fabulous recipes. It may be even worth becoming a member at the start of your journey.
Those initial five pounds are probably mostly water weight. But 1-2 pounds a week is a good rate at which to lose. People seem to be able to keep the weight off more easily, if they lose at that speed.
Total vs net: it’s individual. I never cared about total as it seems very much irrelevant to me. But now, only plant net carbs matter to me (okay, fungi too but that’s negligible).
But many people uses total as that works for them. Each to their own. I actually don’t even care about my carbs, I just stay close to carnivore, good enough (my carbs are never too high that way, I stay below my 40g net that I experienced to be needed for my ketosis so there’s that :D). I never liked to go overboard with sweeteners but my total easily was 100g on keto and it worked well enough, the problem was my too high net plant carb but I solved that since.
A bit for me, sometimes. After several years of stalling (and progressively more effort) I had some negative thoughts myself and now, at 12 years (that’s when I stopped losing fat on low-carb), I start to lose patience already… But it’s not my final form yet, I can do better. Experiments and tweaks are fun though Doing the same from the beginning, that would have been boring! IF is different as that is my normal life, I did it on high-carb too so I am not frustrated that I put in effort as I don’t… The woe should be similar, lifestyle change, you do it because it’s good for you, fat-loss or no fat-loss. And maybe it will happen one day. And until then, you still can enjoy the ride. Or getting healthier. Ideally both.
What Virginia said. All those keto products are still junk. And just count carbs, no subtracting anything.
Believe it or not, my 120 pound loss (and keeping it off for years) and my cessation of all but my asthma meds tell you that fat is good and healthy to eat and it will make you SKINNY, not fat.
What makes you fat is firstly sugar. Barring that, it’s the combination of carbs and fat. If you are going on a low calorie diet, you can have very little fat. If you are going on a low carb diet, you can have as much fat as you want, but very few carbs.
It’s an either-or. The combination of carbs and fat is what does you in. It’s not fat by itself, fat has great nutritional value. Learn about nutrition in meats and fats. Google it.
And, yes, while I don’t measure anything but my carbs, which are all from veggies, I also recommend the Diet Doctor.
I eat, and have for years, meat, fat, cheese, heavy cream, some nuts and a variety of low carb veggies. I am a healthy weight and am old and yet need no meds anymore.
Oh, and I hardly exercise at all. I go on short walks with my dogs.
Oh yes, it’s stupid that IF necessarily causes fat-loss. Why would it? 
Doing the same from the beginning, that would have been boring! IF is different as that is my normal life, I did it on high-carb too so I am not frustrated that I put in effort as I don’t… The woe should be similar, lifestyle change, you do it because it’s good for you, fat-loss or no fat-loss. And maybe it will happen one day. And until then, you still can enjoy the ride. Or getting healthier. Ideally both.