Slow down...slow down...stop!...gain weight!

(Jason) #1

Hi all, ive just spent ages reading all the stall points and some great info in there on fasting and food types and macros.

I am having a struggle, I got down to 96.5 kg on Dec 24 - then over xmas I stuck to my routine, however I had added in some brownie and things i found on this site using stevia - I always checked my BS/Ket levels with a blood meter 1-2hrs after eating and next morning and it seemed the sugar alcohols had no effect on me at all so i was happy. I kept to my macros 70-75 fat 20 ish protein and 5-8 carbs - fibre etc net carbs of 20 ish or less. My daily Kal intake is around 1600-1700 with a goal of fat loss.

I was exercising up to Dec when I hurt my back, my weight loss was always slow 101 in Sept down to 96kg in Dec, i was ok while i knew i was progressing.

I dont weigh myself often but When I did at end of Jan i was back up to 98.5 so I had gained 2kg in a month?? So I am confused, I have cut the sugar alcohols out, measured my food daily, cut out anything suspect like the odd piece of dark chocolate 85 - and i have measured my ketone and bs levels 3 x a day for a week.

My ket levels dont go above 0.7 really, mostly between 0.1 and 0.5 morning noon and night
my bs levels are between 100-120 usually higher in the mornings

I am confused as to why if i need to change something or just get back to exercise or what, i think my kals are low enough to lose and i did already lose about 45-50lb with this same process i am in. I am a creature of habit and easy enough to do the same thing over and over.

Things I eat regular
Shrimp
Salmon
Cod
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Butter
Nuts (not high carb ones)
spinach
mayo
olive oil
chilli
garlic
green beans
mushrooms
tomatoes
red peppers

would appreciate anyone who can give me some specific ideas to try, i do log my food on myfitnesspal so i watch macros i dont think i should go much lower on kals due to my size. I am quite lean on my abs now but not around my legs and lower back so i must have some to lose cant imagine 98kg is my ideal weight, I suspect about 90kg.

(Karen) #2

Tomatoes and red pepper are a bit sweet, I donā€™t know. Check your mayo. Some people have trouble with soybean oil. Iā€™m stuck too, so I feel your pain.

K

(Liz ) #3

How often do you eat?

#4

Change things up, IF or EF, skip days, workout less or workout harder, drop the artificial sweeteners of you can.

Add more fat, less protein.

(Karen Parrott) #5

I had good results with upping my protein just a tiny bit, and with time restricted eating 17:7 daily.

Eating early in the day 6am to 1pm really helps me keep better satiety signals (mine donā€™t work even at a normal weight)

The increased protein did not effect my ability to be in ketosis and I got a lot leaner and more muscular. Weā€™re not talking huge amounts of protein, but 10-15 grams. It cut my dietary fat slightly and that signaled my body to drop itā€™s subcutaneous fat. I feel pretty good!

(Jason) #6

Coffee with butter in the am
Then 2 meals

(Jason) #7

Iā€™m going to add the workout back and also have dropped the sweeteners already

I must be fat adapted just wonder if the weight loss stop is coinciding with no ketosis on the blood tests

When I started IF thatā€™s when my weight loss slowed down significantly before that I was eating 3x per day and losing 3kg per month

(Monica Piccirillo) #8

I really needed to read your comment. Iā€™m struggling with keeping my protein at 65g and 85 just makes my meals more appealing and versatile. 5ā€™10ā€ F, 140#, 61yr

(3c6f21097d06511a9e23) #9

2 kgs, isnā€™t much. I wouldnā€™t worry to much. I fluctuate 2kg and I only weigh 53/56 kgs depending on water intake I think.
KCKO

(Jason) #10

I usually weigh myself 3 days in a row to get an average once a month so I see any fluctuations im not overly worried but still need to start making progress again

(Liz ) #11

Well that sounds good. I mean, stalls do happen. Sometimes if you get into too much a predictable routine, the body adjusts and stalls. Iā€™m in a 3 month stall myself, after ten months of steady loss. But I went down a size while the scale stayed the same so other things are still happening. Now Iā€™m focusing on extended fasting in an attempt to push my basal insulin levels down to access more bodyfat. And I try to keep things mixed up, keep my body guessing.

(Jason) #12

Thank you how long are you fasting for

(Liz ) #13

I fast weekly now, 46-48 hours, and once a month I go for 70-72 hours. I think itā€™s slowly pushing my fasting insulin down to allow me to burn fat again. Also I think I need to be more careful with protein, i think I eat too much. No way to know except to experiment!

(Pete A) #14

Maybe incorporating fatty meats, hard cheese, some coconut oil or butter could help?

#15

Agree with @Keto6468 bout the Mayo. Soybean oil is questionable

Shrimp is very high in protein. Tomatoes and peppers are nightshades if you believe in that (not sure I do). As others have said, varying your routine

(Raj Seth) #16

You weigh approx 100 kgs - same as me (Im down from 135) - 1700 kCals a day seems way way way too low. I think you have successfully lowered your metabolism by calorie restriction :worried:
The following is my understanding (and I am 100 kgs too - down from 135 kgs) of keto and IF EF etc.
1- When you eat, eat. When you fast, fast! Jason Fung.
2- Eat when hungry, eat till satiety, DONT eat when not hungry.
3- Donā€™t eat all the time.
4- KCKO
5- DO NOT CALORIE RESTRICT - self defeating strategy!

Given these simple rules, here is what I do.
I dont count calories, except to make sure that I am not exceeding 75-100gm protein.
I dont eat 2-3 meals a day. I have 2 cappucinos in the am, each made with 5 ozs HWC- 1000 kCals! Then I CAN NOT eat till dinner. At dinner, I am careful about not having too much protien, but make sure I have plenty of fat. I eat till I am full, or maybe a little more :rofl:
I have estimated I am trying to eat 2000 - 3000 calories. I am trying to raise my metabolic set point - but choking down more calories is hard without over eating or exceeding protein limit
I am starting my first ever 7 day fast tomorrow, so have been feasting for the last week, and trying really hard to put down even higher caloric content daily (Thanks Megan and Jason)

This works for me. YMMV.

(Jason) #17

Hi thank you for your response. Iā€™m not sure on the too low calories. Iā€™ve had this so many times with trainers trying to force me to eat 3000+ kals due to my weight but all thatā€™s ever happened is Iā€™ve gained weight.

Iā€™ve dropped 25kg maybe in total with this method Iā€™ve never felt tired or anything less than great energy levels never hungry, surely if I was starving Iā€™d feel hungry.

I stopped measuring in Jan food intake id say maybe I ate a bit more not not much or excessive perhaps this is where the weight came from.

I can only imagine going from 1700 to 2500,3000 per day would gain weight not lose

(Rob) #18

Iā€™m not saying this is what is happening to you butā€¦ Starvation response is so much more than hunger pangs. It is the shutting down of bodily processes to fit to the new caloric norm so that you only need the restricted calories expected. If you have calorie restricted for a long time, which is sounds like you have, you may have reduced your BMRā€¦ and it doesnā€™t bounce back easily.

The foods you are eating are mostly low fat, so unless you are eating a lot of the OO, butter, nuts and mayo, your macros are OK but your quantities are probably off. Try fattier meats and keep up the other fats. In the absence of excess insulin, the body is good at only utilizing the fat you need, either burning (increasing metabolic rate) or excreting the excess.
If you quite recently started this WoE It sounds like you are having a standard early plateau after losing water weight. Your body needs to fat adapt AND repair the damage of your former WoE but probably wonā€™t while you are still calorie restricting - it will stay in ā€˜starvationā€™ mode. I am a similar weight to you and I lose more when I eat more (predominantly fat). Your old weight loss paradigm is getting in the way of the new one IMHO.

Good luck and KCKO.

(Jason) #19

Iā€™m most definitely not starving I eat 70 to 75% kals from fat 20 protein and 5 carbs from around 1700 kals per day. Fats are all from olive oil nuts natural peanut butter coconut oil etc.

Iā€™ve measured my blood ketones and blood sugars extensively over this time and learned what put me in and out of ketosis before this stall.

If anything over the last month I was eating few more Kals through peanut butter and nuts certainly not less.

I think Iā€™m going to try a fast for 5 days see what results I get eating 1000 more Kals a day is not an option

(Rob) #20

Like I said, ā€˜starvingā€™ is not about being hungry. 1700 calories is too little for a 100kg man who hasnā€™t fat adapted. Good luck with the fast but to me itā€™s more old CR logic at this point.

I have gone through the same routine as youā€¦ lost weight 70lbs on CICO, couldnā€™t get any further (in fact went 20lbs back when I ate ā€˜normallyā€™), exercised hard until I hurt myself. Then I found keto and had to unlearn the BS of most advice. You think you succeeded with CICO, as I thought I did, but I came to realize that Iā€™d just damaged myself metabolically and had to do something different.