Reset after being Keto for a while

(Mike W.) #1

Is it possible to do a sort of reset to back when you started Keto and dropped a bunch of initial weight? I’ve been eating this WOE for almost two years now. Dropped weight in the first 5 months, stalled for almost a year and now I’ve gained back about 20. It’s frustrating as hell. The only carbs I consume are incidental. No sweet binges or pasta or any of that crap. I just don’t get why I’m gaining. I generally IF 20:4 or at most 2mad.

(Omar) #2

when You say now do you mean you gained the 20 over a short period or I should say how long you gained the 20 pounds?

what is your energy level?

Is the weight gain accompanied with waist increase ?

#3

I know that Megan Ramos (Dr Fung’s colleague) isn’t a fan of long-term OMAD - I think she believes that it can easily amount to daily calorie restriction & slowing of metabolism. She also generally recommends mixing things up so your body doesn’t adapt to any one particular ‘tool’.

#4

Do you still weigh and track?

(Robert C) #5

This sounds very accurate - especially with a stall and a weight gain doing the same thing (OMAD) - sounds like daily calorie restriction.

IDM protocol in this situation seems to be to move to several 36/42 hour fasts a week.

(Mike W.) #6

No, since about January when I over did it a little over the holidays. I’ve still gained 15 since then though. Energy level is generally low. Really feeling unmotivated lately. I attributed it to some depression creeping back in. Anxiety has been higher.

(Mike W.) #7

I never OMAD. Try to eat 2 meals in my window. No snacking. I do occasionally ADF. 32-36 hour fasts. Lose some weight but when I start eating again it’s all back.

(Mike W.) #8

I’ve been doing a fair bit of adf 32-36 hour. Fasting really stresses me out though.

(Omar) #9

I do not want to sound like expert because I am not.

but I would like only to help and say my opinion.

I think you are not fat adopted or you may have been kicked out of ketosis for hormonal reasons like a adrinal fatigue or lack of sleep or something.

(Mike W.) #10

I weigh weekly but don’t track. I honestly don’t know how. I cook everything I eat but don’t use recipes. I know it just sounds like an excuse and I need to try harder but it’s very difficult to get an accurate idea of what I’m eating.

(Mike W.) #11

I appreciate your input. I assure you i am fat adapted. I can go days without feeling hungry if I don’t want to feel well. Not in Ketosis? Maybe. I’ve considered getting a Keto mojo to find out. I do know when I first started and was definitely in Ketosis my body would perceive the “rush of energy” people get, as a flight response. Similar to when i have large amounts of caffeine. My anxiety was through the roof. I was really hoping Keto would help with the mental health as well.

(Mike W.) #12

I really appreciate everyone’s help. I just want to get this figured out. I’m more than happy to answer any questions. I was 294 Jan 2017 (start of Keto), down to 255 by July of 2017, up to around 260 Jan 2018 and this whole year I’ve lost and gained the same 10#. Currently about 270. I’m 6’3” a1c is 5.3 The only other thing I could add is that my daughter was born in March of this year. She is great though and sleeps through the night without issue. I in turn sleep great.

(John) #13

Are you doing any kind of exercise at all? Weights, bodyweight, cardio, even walking? Also, you may be so effectively fat adapted that your body is very efficient at using fat, so that the fat you consume in your daily diet is enough for your body to run off of without needing to use fat stores.

At some point, since you are stalled, you are going to have to come up with a way to measure your macros. That can be as simple as using a kitchen scale to weigh the foods that go into your meals. You may just be eating more calories than you think.

(Mike W.) #14

I do a fair amount of walking with work and I also try to walk my dog more times a week then not. I am going to try writing down everything I eat this week and calculating it.

(57da1864057add858d6f) #15

You’re smart to not force yourself to fast if it stresses you out. There’s a lot of pressure to fast, especially do extended fasts, in combination with keto. So keep paying attention to how you feel. You don’t mention your activity level. I’m a personal trainer and I tell people physical activity is important not because it “burns calories “ but because it improves insulin sensitivity and builds lean muscle tissue amongst other things, so I’m curious about that aspect.

(Mike W.) #16

At some point in my life, the feeling of increased heart rate started to lead to an increase in anxiety :pensive: I’m working with a counselor. I know I need to excercise I just have get past how it makes me feel. I sound like a hot mess “on paper”…haha I used to work out and was quite muscular, (still overweight) but a few years of moving less and a job change to something more sedentary has atrophied most of that.

(John) #17

A suggestion from someone about in your same size-weight range (I am 6’1 and 290, down from 320): try some bodyweight and weight-type exercises.

I just do some basic bodyweight exercises and have a pair of dumbbell bars with weight plates. It takes a while to start building new muscle (longer for me since I am over 60 now) but having more muscle mass increases your base metabolic rate since a pound of muscle burns more calories at rest than a pound of fat. I just do a simple routine about 3 days a week, at home, when I have time for it. You’d be surprised how much you can do with just you and the floor.

(Mike W.) #18

I will try that. Thank you.

(John) #19

You can control how much or how little your heart rate goes up by adding more time between sets. There’s no pressure like at a gym when you are sharing a weight bench with someone else both trying to get in your sets, or trying to look like you are competent to the imagined onlookers (who really aren’t looking and don’t care, but I always felt awkward at gyms).

(Mike W.) #20

I always felt the same way, even when I “knew what I was doing”.