Reasonable Expectations

(karen) #1

I’ve just read three posts in a row from newbies who are very anxious or disappointed because they’ve only lost 2 pounds in their first two weeks.

Even in people who are fat adapted and water fasting, average fat loss is .5 pounds of fat per day, and that’s variable, someone smaller, older, or more sedentary than average may not even lose that much. (And that’s with absolutely no external energy going into the system).

I think shows like The Biggest Loser as well as all these tabloid promises “Lose 10 pounds by the weekend!” set us up for some really unrealistic expectations. While I realize everyone is different and if you come into keto holding a lot of water weight there may be a drastic drop in the first couple of weeks, there’s only so much “real” weight loss happening.

Anyone want to weigh in (ha ha) on what a realistic expectation for weight loss looks like?

Just need a little Motivation
#2

I started in January with a no sugar diet, and then no grain, in that process someone told me of keto, I knew this was going to be my new life style and had zero expectations about how much i would lose. Any amount would be great because I wanted to eat to live longer, and if I live longer will have time to lose the weight if this keto works. It is a eating problem I had and now with that problem gone the body will regulate itself to where it needs to be, and so far that is 4 inches off my waist size.

so I agree lower expectations and enjoy the ride, we each will get what we get. some of the food we eat maybe healing us from our past eating sins before the weight regulation begins.

(cheryl) #3

4 inches is great !!!

(CharleyD) #4

I think if you start this with an expectation it is going to be dashed pretty soon.

If you change up the diet and get your stress managed and sleep sorted, you allow your body to relax and naturally reduce to a level that it is comfortable with.

Sorry, I can’t cite anything to prove this, just my hunch that behavior change is the hardest hump to get over and if you can get over that, all the rest of the benefits will come in their own time.

(karen) #5

I do agree with that, but I know that a whole lot of people look to ketosis for weight loss and they come into it with firm goals (and expectations) of what they want out of it. A total change in mind set about your physical body is a pretty tall order, especially for a person who’s still seeking a standard of beauty as well as health. I just feel bad for all these people who watch shows like TBL and think that anything less than 5 pounds a week is “a bad week”, like it is on TV.

(Alec) #6

Karen
Alas, I think this will happen more and more. Keto is leaking (slowly) into the mainstream (demonstrated by that Jillian Michaels woman), and this means the masses are starting to dabble.

What do the masses want? Fast weight loss right now. And if I don’t get it what will I do? Go to the next diet and complain about the last one. I know, cos I was part of that. Maybe I still am.

Which is why I keep asking myself what is different here.

What is realistic weight loss? Any number we put up is going to please some folks, disappoint others, and make some just leave.

But I am gonna do it anyway. I think losing 1lb of bodyfat per week is totally reasonable and in most cases doable. But there are so many caveats and exceptions…

(CharleyD) #7

I agree with you there, but the truth is that you can’t put a number on it. That kind of thinking is just a different flavor of the CICO insanity.

Even if you knew your precise BMR, it would only be accurate to that snapshot in time. Stressing about it will produce stress hormones which will automatically start storing food away and produce weight gain even in caloric deficit. Relaxing about it and going about your life on keto and eating only when hungry will produce weight loss even in caloric surplus.

The reality of human metabolism doesn’t conform to nice neat equations. A lot of the variables are hidden under the hood. We know what broad strokes can help metabolism out but it is truly impossible to know with absolute metaphysical certainty how many pounds of fat someone can lose doing this.

(karen) #8

What is different here for me is that the science supports things I’ve either known or suspected all along. I’ve also found quite a few “players in the keto game” who aren’t actively selling much of anything and seem genuinely excited about sharing science - and willing to let go of ideas that turn out to be unsupported by further research, because they don’t have a huge financial stake in them. From Ancel Keys to Weight Watchers I feel like I’ve been force fed ideas that really aren’t supported by fact, and I’ve finally found my home among people looking for true explanations, not profitable theories.

(karen) #9

No argument at all from me, I just want a way to reassure people who aren’t ready to KCKO that what’s happening to them in two weeks isn’t failure.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #10

I came to this diet with no illusions of ‘fast’ weight loss.
I only have 15kg to lose total, started at 22kg.
I was well aware that weight loss would stall after the water weight had dropped off.
I was under the impression I could comfortably lose half a kg each week.
If I divide the time on keto by the amount of weight I’ve lost, I’m still averaging out at 1.5kg per week which is 3.3pounds a week loss.

(MooBoom) #11

A realistic expectation for weight loss is individual, and dependant on the level of metabolic disregulation a person has before going Keto.

I’d say if people readjusted their expectations to expect slow loss (half a pound a week), with gains and stalls thrown in, then they’d be pretty well armed to stick at Keto successfully.

If people are expecting Keto to be a magic weight loss bullet then they are going to be sorely disappointed (unless they are a unicorn).

#12

I do agree, the fat is fuel your body did not need and built up over years. It is pretty unreasonable to think the body can now use all that stored fuel in a few weeks, we put it there slowly it is going to be slow to remove it from long term storage and burn it up.

(Wendy) #13

I don’t know what’s realistic. I’ve been thrilled with my weight loss because it’s been relatively painless and pretty steady. I never went into this expecting to see so much change so quickly. That said I’ve had waves of ups and downs. I weigh myself too frequently because I’m always curious. :blush: I’m down 17 pounds from March 22nd which is when I bought my scale. But I’ve seen some days I’m up two or three pounds and it may take five days to go down to below my previous lower weight. I totally understand weight is so variable due to many thing like how much waste is in your bowels, current hydration, ect.
What has impressed me with this way of eating is how the inches shrink. My clothes have dropped from a tight 16 to a 10 AND I feel energetic. (This is from January not March.) I think my results are not too uncommon, though I am not one who had done a lot of yoyo dieting so I’m sure that helped. I was never diagnosed with diabetes though I may have had it. I think eating real food and the right fats has been a huge positive in my life. So am I a unicorn? (Total weight loss almost 50 pounds since November, keto since 2nd week of January. )

#14

No do not think you are a unicorn, just slow and steady. Think in what is right and the results will follow.

(MooBoom) #15

Not a unicorn (lol did you just read my post earlier?) just good solid results! I lost 17kgs in 6 mths and it felt slow at the time (with loooong stalls and plenty of gains in the mix) but I’d rather slow than nothing :blush:

(Wendy) #16

Maybe my expectations were not that high but I don’t feel like my losses have been slow at all and people are always asking What I am doing?
I just can’t wait to see what I look like in a year.

(MooBoom) #17

You’ve had solid sustainable results over a good period of time. Doing awesome!

(Wendy) #18

Awe, thanks Mon!

(Dom DePlume) #19

I agree that–on whole–“expectations” are killers. I’ve been dealing with this a LOT over the past few months as the numbers on my scale have flat-lined. Between November and February, I dropped roughly 30lbs. Since Feb, I’ve dropped only an additional 14lbs–roughly 5lbs/mo, or about .8lb/wk.

And yet, I feel disappointed by this. I feel like I’m struggling, plateau’d, etc. The more I hear other’s stories, the more I hear the same thing. It’s the people who keep dropping .5/day who are the rare birds.

I think the thing we as keto’ers need to do for newbies is make the understanding of the “freshman fat-loss” SOLID for them. I think I heard somewhere that when you’re getting keto adapted and starting out, you can expect to lose 1/3-1/2 of your excess weight rapidly, but the rest is going to come off much more slowly. This is two-fold: 1) Your body can deplete glycogen stores rather rapidly -via- removal of water from fat cells, but; 2) the removal (autophagy) of actual fat cells takes considerably longer because it’s a different and distinct metabolic process. It’s still aided by ketosis, but not to the degree that the depletion of glycogen/water is.

We need to prepare people (ourselves included) for this. We can’t and shouldn’t take anything away from those few for whom a massive–yet consistent–weight-loss happens, but we need to keep people (ourselves included) real on what to expect. And what we all CAN expect is a reduction in inflammation, better A1c, a brighter, clearer mind, a reduction of hunger, and an increase in the feeling of our general sense of well being, which I strive to remind myself is worth sticking it out for, irrespective of what I weigh.

#20

I think the best early measures of success are neither weight loss, nor a loss of inches. Sure, both are great, and both are likely what prompt most people to do any diet.

Of course some early success with weight loss is likely needed for anyone to be encouraged and to stay on the path. Through personal experience however, I have learned that the most useful early progress is my re-examination of my relationship with food. Once the sugar and carb induced cravings were gone, I was much more easily able to pinpoint and observe the reasons I ate. Yes, “ate”… past tense. Because once the cravings were gone, I was able to take control over when, what, and why I now eat. And that in my very humble and still limited keto experience, is the most important early stage victory; along with learning about the impact of different foods on my body and mind.

Developing a healthy relationship with food, and gaining understanding & control of my eating is empowering. Without it, any weight loss is likely to be just temporary. For sustained weight management and continued healthy eating habits, a psychological change about food needs to take place. I could lose all my goal pounds in a few short weeks, but if the process didn’t include a shift in my thinking and understanding, I probably wouldn’t be able to hold onto my success.