Regain struggles

(Amy) #1

Started lazy keto (i.e., no tracking, just eat keto foods <20g carb per day) ~Feb/March 2017. Couple month interruption (and weight regain) over summer 2017, then steady on ever since fall 2017. Stopped losing weight (40-45lb total) Mar. 2018 and just kept on eating the same way (hoping to lose a bit more but never did and was happy enough about 10 pounds over ideal weight). Maintained there for 6 months. Cue October 2018 til now…same routine, same foods, no carb creep (if anything I got stricter?) and my weight starts to just go that pound up…and never back down. Then another pound. I am 8 pounds up now and pretty miserable!! What worked for me for 1.5 years just stopped working!!

Reading and research led me to become suspicious that I may have slowed my metabolism by long-term calorie reduction. I was not very hungry with the appetite-suppressing nature of keto and there were plenty of days I didn’t eat BMR-level calories for those years–if I ever did! I was also losing a lot of hair, which is a sign to me that things were not all good with me–too few calories or nutrients. So, as an experiment, I’ve actually upped my calories (upped fat) and tried to eat more on a consistent basis. Doing that was caused a couple pounds of my eight pound gain. I was hoping to see things move down again but just haven’t.

So here I am stuck with eight pounds of flabby fat (that incidentally landed mostly on my thighs…awful and weird) and torn whether the answer is more calorie reduction from fasting (that will send my body further down the path toward not getting what it needs?) or sticking with this higher calorie plan and hoping that doing that for more months will fix something.

Any thoughts here??

Thanks.

#2

How old are you, how tall are you, what are you eating, how much are you eating?

(Amy) #3

I’m 43, 4’5", had gotten to 140 now 148. I honestly have no idea how much I was eating as I lost the weight, but if I had to guess it was variable in the 1100-1400 cal a day range. But who knows, I wasn’t counting and that was the joy of it! It’s why the diet worked for me. Eat from the approved list without thinking much, carbs very low, and if I gained a pound here or there as long as I stuck with it my weight returned to baseline. Regardless of how much I was eating, that was working for me but then stopped. Now, based on some advice about metabolic damage that I’ve received, I am trying to up metabolism and am eating much more–1800 calories, largely fat to keep insulin way down. Haven’t gained a lot on that routine but certainly not losing. The idea is that one can lose without restricting calories and lowering metabolic rate. But I get skeptical :slight_smile:

(Amy) #4

Oh, and I eat 20g total carbs, 50-60g protein, the rest fat to 1800 cals.

#5

The reverse dieting caper can take a bit of time to repair a damaged metabolism. If you’re not gaining too much then maybe just give it a while. Once you hit a solid plateau you can mess around with calories again. It might be worth tracking while you do this so you can actually see what is working & what isn’t. Another thing to keep in mind is that at the age of 43 your hormones are going to start changing - that can make a difference.

(Amy) #6

Safi, thanks.

So do you sort of agree that metabolic rate reduction is probably an issue and diving into more fasting and more calorie reduction isn’t the right direction? I get so confused because on so many keto resources when people plateau or gain the cry is, “fast more! fast longer” I’m sure that would work, actually, but now I’m wary that at the end of the day it will hurt me even more. On the one hand low-carbers don’t believe in CICO and they understand weight regain due to dieting, but on the other hand they cut calories by fasting in order to lose weight. I’m just a bit lost right now because of my experience :stuck_out_tongue: Thanks for the input! Yeah, hormones. I guess that’s a thing on the horizon too…was hoping not just yet but who knows.

(Robert C) #7

You might want to look at an earlier post. It seems fitting considering your situation.

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/do-the-early-health-benefits-of-keto-diminish-over-time/73105/4

#8

That I couldn’t tell you for sure but I can say that fasting & feasting is most likely a better approach than permanent calorie restriction regardless of which diet you follow :slightly_smiling_face:

The purpose of fasting isn’t calorie restriction - indeed on days you are not fasting it’s important that you eat well & plenty.

(Amy) #9

Wow, thanks for that link. I scanned but will look more in depth there. I wondered about getting too steady with what I was doing along the way, but it was working for losing weight and I didn’t want to mess with it. Now that I’m this deep into the problem a cheat KILLS me. I used to eat a piece of cake here and there and it was no big deal. Now if I eat too much carb in vegetable I gain! So I feel like starting to try to eat outside of keto now would send the weight higher, and that I will not risk. I am so upset to be up the pounds I am. Hopefully this feasting I’m doing still in ketosis will help over time.

Is this a common struggle? Is my situation weird? I can only imagine that many people are undereating because of keto appetite suppression. Or, fasting and not eating up to BMR on non-fast days. I know that’s the case I’ve observed it in other keto’ers. However, I haven’t met a lot of people regaining.

(Robert C) #10

When you read the link more deeply you’ll get the basic message - if what worked before stops working, jiggle the handle. Could be eating like there is a summer harvest for 3 weeks, then three weeks strict keto, then a 5-day fast. Bounce your hormones around a bit so they have to react - maybe they’ll get better at it.

If you have been clamping down for a long time maybe your body needs a little growth mode eating.

Other reasons your weight might creep up without dietary change:

  1. Increased stress
  2. Decreased sleep
  3. You are getting better at cooking or finding hyper palatable foods
  4. You are under or over exercising
  5. Given the October timing - seasonal affective disorder (a stress)

These are examples but may trigger some thinking about what changed in October.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

@als03 When you say you are gaining weight, are you gaining fat, muscle, bone density? Do you know what your body composition is?

(Full Metal KETO AF) #12

She said it was mostly in her thighs. @PaulL

(Cindy) #13

I also hesitate to throw this out there, because it can be discouraging, but you ARE starting to approach the perimenopause years. It’s not like that happens overnight…once you really notice symptoms of it, you’re full blown in it. But I think it’s like so many other things health related…there start to be very subtle signs of it early on. Hair loss can also be due to hormonal changes. So it very well may NOT be anything YOU are doing…just a change in hormones.

As for fasting…it’s my understanding (please correct me, oldies, if I’m wrong!), that fasting also increases growth hormones, so it really is NOT the same as calorie restriction. Fasting is also much more normal, from an evolutionary standpoint, then continuous calorie restriction. We really weren’t designed to eat the same number of calories (or the same things) day in and day out.

Maybe you’ve already done this, but in your situation, I’d try to really pay attention to what my body was telling me. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. If you are, eat. Don’t try to force yourself to eat more fat just to hit a higher BMR or something. I’ve had days when I’ve really wanted fat and I’m snacking on bacon and pepperoni like there was no tomorrow. Yesterday, I was wanting fruit…not oranges and such, but blueberries or strawberries. So I ate them. And in both situations, I still lost weight.

You also haven’t mentioned exercise. You might need to add in some walking or 30 minutes of body weight exercises…just things to get your heart rate and breathing up.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #14

@als03 If you’re just getting back to keto, you may have triggered a new hair growth cycle en mass, which means old hair pushed out by new hair and an impression that you’re balding :confused:. If so your hair will recover in time.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #15

So she’s probably doing a lot of walking, and her thigh muscles have grown from the exercise. That kind of weight gain is healthy. Weight gained from added fat would not be.