Not losing. Very discouraged

(Vanessa) #21

Same here. I did pretty strict Keto for 2 months and gained 4 lbs. LOL
I fell off the wagon but have been back on for 2 weeks and no loss yet.

(Liane) #22

And I have not felt them. No extra energy, no decreased GERD, no relief from my IBS, no better sleep, no weight loss. My cholesterol and b/p are already below most “normal” people my age without using meds. If I don’t feel any better, see no medical benefits and don’t lose weight, perhaps it’s not the diet for me. It works great for many. But it has not worked for me in 6 months. So no, that’s not the only reason to stick to it. But it was the main one. If I get no benefits at all, why keep on?

(Liane) #23

Actually no, it won’t. Despite what many think, the only nutrient you have to supplement when eating plant based is B12. Ive done my research. From multiple sources.

(Liane) #24

Oh, and I have a malabsorption disorder- THAT is why I have to supplement. I’d have to supplement no matter what diet I ate. Thanks for assuming without asking.

#25

You do you, then.

(Liane) #26

I never meet my fat percentages. Never could unless I drank 2 bpc daily, and I didn’t much care for the one I drank for a while. Fat bombs? Never tried them. Don’t care for nut butters. I love butter but not as a large percentage of anything, more to cook with and flavor veggies and such. I did always wonder though- since we are warned from carbs and too much protein, what is left when you cut fat? I eat beef, pork, and veggies. Butter on the veggies but not excessive. I’m just frustrated. This WOE worked when I was younger. I doubt I could ever go completely meat free, but since I seem to already eat mostly vegetables it’s not going to be a big change unless I add beans and lentils as protein sources.

(Christy) #27

I am a lover of veggies. I tend to finish all my vegetables before anything else on my plate. Do you like avocados? They’re a great addition to the Keto diet if you’re not crazy about meat. Try a salad with bacon & avocados!! It’s one of my go to meals … you can even add HBEs if you’re low on protein.

#28

Malabsorption could make your body cling on to its mass. I think it would be worthwhile to try and do something about that. Just not creon, as it contains amylase, and that is something you’d only need if potatoes are the only available food source.

I also have fat malabsorption, and it doesn’t really take a doctor to notice it. Animal fat makes me nauseous, too much fat combined with little starch makes for a toilet day. I have found advice which I am going to try out, starting with digestive bitters, possibly going on to try lipase as well (without other enzymes in the mix).

Lipase is actually necessary for the body to get fat out of fat cells, and not just for digesting dietary fat, so it might be worth a try. The problem with creon is probably that it also helped your body get more sugar out of otherwise indigestible starches. It’s the fat+carbs combo that kills metabolism.

Sweeteners have different effects on different people. Erythritol and xylitol are also keto approved, but work more like normal sugar (come in grains). Erythritol does not appear to affect insulin levels at all, and is impossible for the body to make use of (might cause stomach upset). Stevia does cause a slight insulin spike, but tends to curb craving very effectively, which is a good tradeoff. I don’t know about monk fruit, as it isn’t available in my location.

I understand your discouragement. I don’t have as much to lose, but have been keeping the same weighr for four weeks now, and this makes me think I’ve actually reached my current set weight (Dr. Fung has the best info in this). So, I plan to do my first extended fast next week, hoping to readjust my set weight.

Another thing to consider is that insulin resistance is a little difficult to measure. As muscle insuline resistance goes up (they have no space to take in more glucose), fat insulin sensitivity goes up as well (fat can store a lot). One way to try and counteract this, is to do high intensity training (not cardio), which depletes muscle glycogen storages and forces up insulin sensitivity in the muscles. As long as muscles want more glucose, fat won’t store as much either. Metabolism is several long abd complicated processes, so if you really want to learn more, listen to Dr. Fung. And if high intensity training sounds interesting to you, Dr. McGruff and his book “Body by Science” are good sources of information.

I hope you’ll find what your own body needs to fix you. Tweaking metabolism when the first step (digestion) is faulty, would be a challenge to anyone. And unfortunately most doctors don’t know anywhere near enough about this, and even keto isn’t an easy one size which fits all. It comes in different variations, and it takes time to find what fits you.

(Cindy) #29

Liane, I kind of feel like you’ve already made up your mind to stop doing keto. That’s perfectly ok…we each have to do what we find is the best for ourselves. But I also kind of feel like you’re not “hearing” some of the advice you’ve been given, because you’ve already made up your mind.

You mentioned in your first post that you’re not staying in ketosis. If your carbs are truly staying below 20 g, you have to be in ketosis. Dr. Westman has something like a 100% success rate with his patients when they keep their carbs that low…and I don’t think your biology is going to be so different from the thousands of patients he’s seen. So either there are hidden carbs somewhere, you’re eating too many vegetables, using too much cream, the monkfruit is affecting you…or…something. You might have to spend several weeks trying to eat ZERO carbs to truly determine how keto works for you.

There’s also some conflicting information in your posts…and some that just doesn’t make sense. For example,

That makes almost no sense. In any glucose tolerance test, it’s expected that your blood sugar will rise temporarily after drinking the glucose. It’s how your body responds after that’s important. So staying 79 the entire time says your body didn’t react to it at all…which again, makes no sense.

Maybe this was your WOE before keto? Because if that’s what it’s felt like since starting keto, then I can see why you’ve had difficulty.

The same for this:

I don’t eat to any percentages or quotas. I did, however, when starting keto, intentionally up my fat intake. Even if it just meant more butter in my eggs, more bacon, more avocado, fattier meats, etc…I intentionally increased the amount of fat I was eating. If you started restricting carbs while still not eating enough fat, you could have simply been eating a calorie-restrictive diet all these months and that is definitely frustrating!

I know how frustrating it can be to try to “make” your body lose weight. I’ve been there and still AM to some degree (losing every slowly). But you have to either believe the science of keto and commit to it completely or if it’s really NOT for you, switch to vegetarian, or even something else…but frustration really isn’t a helpful feeling unless it drives you to do something better or different.

(Sarah ) #30

I too am in my 50’s and it’s very slow going. I think at this age we have to accept that it’s a battle. Perhaps you need some tweaks. IF might be helpful, eating twice a day, no snacks and uping the fat worked for me. I didn’t lose in the first 3 weeks but in the last 3 weeks I’ve noticed a difference with those few changes.

(Sarah ) #31

What a fantastic perspective.

(mole person) #32

This is confusing. How can you be eating mostly vegetables and staying under 20 net grams of carbohydrates?

Basic keto and even lazy keto works for most people with a lot of weight to lose, but not for everyone. Some people are already near or at their keto set point when they start or get there after a few lost pounds and then don’t budge.

There are numerous tweaks, however, that can be employed to get almost anyone in the losing camp. But first you have to be sure you are in ketosis. Almost everyone on this forum has had to tweak to keep losing at some point. I made my first tweak after 10 lost pounds when I stalled, others lose 100 pounds before they have to make a change to further lower their set point, and yet others have to do it from the start. But they do work. The diet takes time to work but it does. After two years, my body now has a set point well below my initial goal weight.

Perhaps you should give us a sample day of food and drink and we can see if there are any red flags as to what might be keeping you out. @cw2001 is correct, if your carbs are really below 20 grams and your protein is moderate you have to be in ketosis or you would die. So either something is off in your diet or your measurement device is failing to show that you are in ketosis even though you are.

(Jill F.) #33

If this is a lifestyle change then it us not frustrating. If it is solely to lose weight for a trip, a wedding, etc, then any weight you lose will likely come back and then some. Look at your true motivation for weight loss. It has to be internal rewards for your mind, your body, your future to be successful, not a particular event.

Old habits are very hard to break. Eat to satiety and try intermittent fasting and add activity where you can. Lower your fat intake a bit and make sure you are allowing your body time to undo years of bad habits. We did not gain the weight overnight, and it takes time to reset our metabolism.

Focus on the non scale victories. You dropped a pant size? Awesome! Have more energy, feel less tired? Super! Focus on those milestones before throwing in the keto towel completely. Hang in there, the struggle is real post menopause but it can happen!

(travis) #34

I know this is a reallyold post but I thought I would share my two cents on monk fruit. As said before everyone responds differently but I find when I use monk fruit to sweeten my coffee, it totally pauses keto. Once I stopped using it, I started losing again. YMMV