Question about weight loss

(Nina) #1

I’m currently on day 5 of strict keto and I’ve lost 4 pounds. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t water weight because I ate very few carbs before, but also low fat. I’ve now increased my fat intake significantly and have noticed a huge change in my body and energy levels. This gets me really excited, but at the same time nervous because I’m reading that many people plateau after weight loss. Has anyone had linear weight loss? Did you change your macros according to weight loss or did you keep everything the same? My goal is to lose weight so knowing this information before a plateau happens is very important to me.

(Robert C) #2

Losing 4 pounds in 5 days is probably bit too fast - especially if you were low carb already (you shouldn’t see a jump like this just due to keto if you were already low carb). It could just be natural variances - going from bigger meals to smaller meals or dehydration.

I suspect (but I am not an authority) that there is only one way to have linear weight loss and that would be by fasting - which should amount to about a half-pound a day of actual fat loss (unless you have a very large amount of weight to loose - then it could be more each day but would remain somewhat linear).

Just about any other attempt to lower weight (lots of cardio, low calorie, keto etc.) will get your body to adapt and plateau (lots of cardio - body gets efficient in that exercise, low calorie - body slows metabolism to conserve energy, keto - body will plateau for a hormonal reason like sleep problems or stress or just because it thinks it needs to keep a higher amount of fat than you would like). Each time your body adapts, you will hit a plateau you need to figure out how to break it (lots of cardio - body gets efficient in that exercise - more cardio or change exercise, low calorie - body slows metabolism to conserve energy - lower calories, keto - body will plateau for a hormonal reason - fix the hormonal issue).

As you can see from the fixes suggested for these plateaus, keto (as usual) seems to be the best alternative for long term but, has the most complex solution (easy to just do more cardio, easy to just lower calories, difficult to diagnose/fix hormonal issues).

Hope this helps!

(Nina) #3

Okay, thanks for the advice. I was concerned about where my weight loss was coming from and if I am doing it in a sustainable way. I’m currently exercising 4 times a week for about an hour (give or take). Do you think this is too much? Also, I’m 5’8 and currently eating around 1,500 calories a day with 80% fat, 15% protein, and 5% carbs so I don’t think I’m low in calories. I’m full after each meal and don’t find the need to eat until my next meal.

(Robert C) #4

Calories seem a bit low - which will make you lose weight at the expense of lowering metabolism. That turns into that bad game of cutting calories more when you hit a plateau - doing that over and over gets you into metabolic hell where eating almost nothing adds pounds.

At the beginning of keto you want to be focusing on getting your hormones worked out so that you can eat more calories and not gain weight. Then, after you are fat adapted - you cut some fat out of your diet once in a while and your body happily gets the amount it needs from your fat stores.

To get the right number (which might be closer to 2500 calories instead of 1500) you might want to try a few calculators - they take activity levels, weight, etc. into account and give you your caloric need (do a few - each will have some bias).

#5

Yes, this ^!

Nina, it’s rarely linear weight loss. As in, almost never. That sometimes happens in 1) men with 2) a lot of excess fat (100 pounds or more) but otherwise, I wouldn’t expect it or even have it as a goal.

Best is to put away the scale for a while (unless you’re really good at tuning out normal daily fluctuations), do lots of reading on here, and track how you feel. Exercise is terrific (though I’m curious what you’re doing for an hour - cardio for an hour four times a week might not be doing you much good) but just keep in mind that a more favorable hormonal balance = better body composition, so you’ll often be getting smaller in times that you don’t see a change on the scale. This is wonderful but can be upsetting if you’re only focused on the scale number.

There’s a terrific thread on here that I would check out: Doing Keto Solely to lose weight? Read this.

(Nina) #6

Thanks so much! I’m doing 15-30 min walking then 20 min of plyometric exercise. I think I will put my scale away for a while to not go to crazy thinking about numbers on the scale :roll_eyes:

(Frank) #7

I’m on month 7 of a mostly Keto lifestyle with cheat days here and there. I’ve probably plateaued 3 or 4 times during my 45 lb loss. I just find our bodies so amazing to be able to adapt to patterns (plateauing) and how throwing curve balls at it such as IF, EF, etc can restart that loss.

(Nina) #8

That’s crazy how much you’ve accomplished. I’m currently doing 16:8 every day but haven’t reached a plateau yet. Did you start your IF and EF when you reached your plateau?

#9

http://hackyour.fitness/fat-loss-not-linear/ … Kind of breaks it down

(Frank) #10

I sure did. I did a 48 hr EF every month for 4 months and have been doing IF every weekday for the most part. Once the fat adaptation takes hold everything has gotten much easier for me as well. As a home brewer I’m able to enjoy my beer in moderation and it doesn’t seem to be affecting my weight at all. I am currently on a 2 month stall and so I am taking a break from the beer for the month of August as a curveball.