So very frustrated

#1

Started Keto early in March. Lost 8 pounds the first week, then gained 2! After about 2 1/2 weeks I went on vacation and off of Keto. Started back on it April 7th. I’ve lost a total of 11 pounds since starting in March. I expected bigger losses considering I have 70 pounds to lose. And I certainly didn’t expect to gain! I’m having trouble keeping carbs and protein levels down and getting enough fat. I track macros with MyFitnessPal. I really feel losing weight after menopause is impossible and that’s incredibly depressing. I’m 56, 5’ 5”, 209 pounds, daily meds are: cholesterol medication, Zyrtec, calcium, vit D, magnesium, multi-vitamin.

image
05B242EA-A669-4000-81EA-ECA4BBCED9F0.png640×1136 68.9 KB

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

Let me say first: you made a good decision to try keto. :smirk: With help and encouragement from the many good folks on this forum I am sure you can and will overcome any and all problems you encounter as you progress towards your goals and overall good/better health.

I just want to add: be realistic. You really started keto Apr 7. That’s 3 weeks and a couple days. You say you’re having trouble keeping your carbs down. But keeping carbs sub-20 grams is very important in the beginning! Keto is not a miracle diet. It requires dedication and effort. If you haven’t kept your carbs sub-20 grams consistently, it’s likely you’ve been in and out ketosis. That will not work and just prolong the agony of weaning yourself from carbs.

Apparently, women have some different issues with keto that men don’t. So I’ll just wish you well and let the ladies on the forum advise you specifically. They will! :sunglasses:

(Khara) #3

I restarted keto on March 13, so 7 weeks tomorrow. Strict keto, no breaks. I’ve lost 8 lbs and that was all in the first 2 weeks. 4 lbs each week, and likely mostly or all water weight.
You started in early March then took a break and restarted just 3 weeks ago. 11 lbs sounds completely reasonable with that timeline. You are nowhere near being fat adapted which is a change that can take months. You are in a period of post induction which is often accompanied by a “stall”. My “stall” is so far at 5 weeks of no apparent loss on the scale or with the fitting of clothes. I say “stall” because I really don’t feel it is a stall. It just appears to be because so many of us pay attention to the scale. First couple weeks we lose several pounds, yay! But, really this is just water weight/bloating loss as our bodies return to a normal amount of water retention. It is not fat loss, which is what most of us are after. So, that initial loss on the scale that we get so excited about, it really isn’t progress in the sense of fat loss. It is progress however in the sense of our being on track with this way of eating and in the early stage of it. Early stage. We can’t skip any of the stages. The next stage, where you are, is the so called post induction stall. We’ve lost our water weight and we are in ketosis but our body is confused and doesn’t yet know how to efficiently get energy without carbs. We need time to adapt. We are impatient though and expect to keep seeing scale losses. I feel the frustration and depression that people fall into during this time is really a result of not understanding the process and not being realistic about the timeline. So, at just 3 weeks of solid keto, this isn’t a stall. I’d say it’s actually exactly where you are supposed to be.

Everyone responds to this differently and, unfortunately, it does get harder and slower as we get older. Patience needs to come into play. Stop any attention you may be paying to rapid loss success stories. They aren’t your body and comparison to others won’t result in any progress of your own. It’s often said here you didn’t put on your weight in just a few weeks or months and so it’s completely unreasonable to expect it to come off that fast.

As for gaining 2 lbs, our weight fluctuates quite a bit even daily. I’ve seen a 4-5 lb change in a day depending on hydration, BM’s, and exercise amount. If using a scale regularly, it’s a good idea to get used to these fluctuations. A lot of people here don’t like the use of scales as they really show very little of the whole picture.

You also mentioned having trouble keeping carbs low. From your graph it looks like you’re doing a pretty good job of it but I can’t tell what your actual numbers are. You probably already know that 20 grams of carbs is a good starting point that can put just about everyone into ketosis. Are you keeping around or under 20 grams? Macro percents are less important. Focus first on that 20 gram max. Keep it simple with that being your focus. As for fat vs protein, you could post some daily food examples to get input about tweaks but I really feel the focus on carbs is most important early on as we learn.

This really is a lifestyle change. Allow time to go by, allow your body to heal, and really take to heart KCKO - Keep Calm and Keto On.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #4

If you don’t know about Dr Westman’s Page 4 you might google that and give it a try. It is a list of foods that will keep you under 20 grams without tracking. Many people have found it helpful for learning the ropes. I’d also look for Amy Berger on YouTube.

I’m not menopausal yet (though I have found my supply of patience has dwindled recently :thinking:) But there are some peri/post menopausal women here on the forums who have had success losing weight with keto. So while it certainly is more difficult than when you’re younger, it is not impossible.

Another thing to consider is that keto isn’t really a weight loss diet. It is a hormone balancing diet, of which weight loss is a side effect. So some people, especially women have a lag before they really start losing as their bodies are healing inside. Which is crazy-making. But good in the long run.

How are you feeling? You are still early days, but have you noticed any NSVs? (Non Scale Victory)

(Jody) #5

I don’t weigh myself but I didn’t see real movement till month 3 and then I had to buy new pants, I have not noticed a lot in month 4 either. I have gained a lot of other good benefits however, I’moff diabetes meds. You have to be patient. It’s not impossible to lose weight during and after menopause, but you need to think long term, like 1 year results, not 1 month. There are some good threads here from women in the menopause or women category, I really recommend reading those! :heart:

(Jay Patten) #6

Rome was not built in a day!

11 pounds of weight loss is nothing to sneeze at. Just keep it up with keto… your body is healing itself from the inside out. Obesity is a hormonal problem. It took years to get your hormones out of whack, and it will take some time to fix. Some people take longer than others! That’s okay!

(mole person) #7

The keto diet has a ramp up phase. For very many people the initial water weight losses are the only losses they see for the first month to six weeks. That’s because what the diet does is change your hormones so that you become less hungry and start to eat reduced amounts and less often. But this takes time as your entire metabolism is changing to learning how to efficiently use fat for fuel. So you have to be patient and you must keep carbohydrates very low during that entire period or you will interfere with this proccess. So you are really only three weeks into this diet since you took a break long before your body was adapted to it.

Also, keep in mind, that fat is your fuel in this diet but NOT a nutrient. You only need to eat as much fat as you require in order to satisfy you at your meals. Don’t add more than you are hungry for just to satisfy a macro. This is a pitfall for many people starting on this diet. They think the percentages matter and they don’t at all. You want carbs as low as possible, protein at the right level in grams for your height and sex, and fat only to satiety. As you hunger changes so should the amount of fat you eat.

Also, don’t worry about being post menopausal, many of us are here and still do drop all of our weight successfully on this diet. It just takes patience and adherence.

Good luck and keep posting any questions.

(traci simpson) #8

I’ve been keto for about 8 weeks not and I’ve only lost about two pounds, however my clothes fit better, my eyesight is better (less sugar/less inflammation). Granted I only have about 10 pounds that I want to lose which is why it might be a slower process for me. No loss of water weight due to the gallon that I drink and have been drinking for most of my adult life and I’m lifting weights in order to re-build muscle mass due to some injuries I had that kept me from the gym. 11 pounds is excellent!!!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

I think you have nothing to complain about here. First off, your vacation binge kind of made you start from scratch, even if you lost a few pounds it was a false start metabolically speaking. Just keep going and keep carbs low, don’t stress over protein or fats. Just eat so you’re not hungry. I see that you never hit your fat and protein macros and I don’t really think that’s a problem as long as you’re not intentionally limiting food to try to accelerate your results. Don’t do that because it will slow down your metabolism and halt weight loss. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Paul H) #10

Thank you for sharing! I happen to be in NC and looking for a Keto Dr as well.

#12

Keto is a great way to lose weight, but, like me, you may find you need to push it along in other ways if you’re looking for faster results after menopause. Even with those extra efforts, you’re still looking at a typical loss of 1–2 lbs./week. You won’t lose much faster than you might with a calorie-restriction plan, but once you’re fat adapted (about 4–6 weeks) you’ll find it a lot easier to stick to the plan long term. That’s really the key to success.

Weight loss on any plan never turns out to be linear. Some weeks you lose 4 lbs., some weeks you gain. But as of now, you’ve lost 11 lbs. in six weeks–nearly 2 lbs. per week, which is the high end of average. That counts as a success in my book, even if a bunch of it was water flushing in the first week. You’re still not lugging it around any more.

Losing weight after menopause basically requires that you throw every trick in the book at it. First steps:

  1. As others have said, you need to get the basics under control: knock back those carb cravings by getting fat-adapted and making sure you’re getting enough protein.
  2. Limit your carbs on a consistent basis. Don’t go on and off plan every few weeks. This is way more important than limiting your carbs to 20g. You could be at 30g and be fine, but you have to do it all the time.
  3. Take some measurements now! Sometimes the scale doesn’t change, but your waist and hips do. There will be many times that you have these non-scale metrics to celebrate.
  4. Finally, make sure you’re eating enough. In the early days, too many women are still hung up on their calorie-restricted habits and are still eating very little. This may cause your body to hang on to everything it can get and you won’t lose. For the next couple weeks, just eat eat eat, as long as it’s not carbs.

Then, after you are fat-adapted (several weeks from now), add the following, one at a time, as you need them to boost weight loss into that 1–2 lbs./week range:

  1. Get lots of sleep and drink lots of water (actually, start doing this now)
  2. Add a strength training program; start with something simple at home, if you’re not into gyms. It’s critical as women age to prevent muscle and bone loss, but also the added muscle will boost your metabolism a bit and the workouts will help lower your glucose even further and support the insulin hormone mechanism that’s helping you lose weight. Add some moderate cardio like walking, dance, etc.
  3. Move to time-restricted eating (TRE) on a 16:8 schedule at least. Then consider intermittent fasting (IF) if the TRE doesn’t seem to make the difference you want. Ultimately calories do matter; this is NOT the same as CICO. We’re dealing with a different mechanism here, so the math won’t work out the same. But most post-menopausal women still need to control calories a bit. Doing IF is a far better way to deal with this than just restricting calories on a daily basis.

Finally, I’m not an expert, but see if you can ditch that statin ASAP. Following a keto diet will do way more for you long-term than that statin and unless your cholesterol is sky-high, there’s actually evidence that they cause more problems than they fix in women.

(Libby) #13

I commiserate with your impatience, Sharon.

I’m 5’4" 55 years old and 194 pounds, roughly 10 pounds down from starting weight (including any or all “water weight”.) A few years post menopausal. Not diabetic. My labs at physicals are always unremarkable. So far and knock on wood.

I’ve been at this for 4 months and 3 weeks. I fell off the wagon for one meal each time 3… maybe 5 times.

I refuse to give up low carb alcohol. It’s a quality of life issue but am sure it slows my progress. I’m not a total lush, but not really moderate, either. I have a drink most days. I don’t get trashed very often.

I am twice as strong as I was in December. I am solidly down one pant size. I would be down 3 pant sizes except my belly has decided to droop and flop and gets in the way as far as fitting into smaller pants waists. It is weird about the belly: it used to be higher up, firm and attached, and now it is soft and smooshy. Gravity pulls it excessively and there is a little lip on the bottom like the edge of an uncooked pizza. It is so disgusting that it is the first thing I look at in the morning and it robs me of my appetite until well after noon.

So ya know, the way I look at it is this: at least I have stopped gaining weight. I mean, seriously, even though I have ridiculously broad shoulders and a truculent posture which makes carrying more weight less noticeable (or at least less commented on…) I had/have a lot of extra adipose tissue, and was putting more on at a horrifying rate. Post menopausal, was an unhappy nurse for too many years etc etc.

My knee has stopped hurting. I have more energy. I don’t feel compelled to snack in the evenings. My abdominal pain is finally gone since I stopped eating vegetables. For those reasons alone I will continue keto-ing.

I’m sure if you just eat keto as much as you can for a while longer you too will notice reasons to not stop.

Remember, we’re all in this together.

#14

Thanks for the encouragement! I really do need to get rid of the quick-fix attitude. When I started this, my thought was I’ll give it a year and see where I’m at then. I like the idea of just concentrating on the 20g of carbs. Any carbs I’m getting are from veggies or dairy. If I just focus on that, hopefully I won’t feel overwhelmed!

#15

This is a much better/ much easier way to approach it! Thank you for this! I was definitely getting caught up in meeting macros and not paying attention to how satisfied I was.

#16

Great suggestions! I’d love to get off that statin! It’s been my goal since starting on it and I’m going to achieve that damn goal! I’m not really carb craving and the only carbs I’m getting are from veggies and dairy. I’m in this for the long-haul!

#17

Libby,
I love your descriptions!:joy: I hear ya on the alcohol thing. What I’m missing most on Keto is beer. I don’t mind a glass of wine, but I’d much rather have a craft beer! But I know I can find a way to add that back in later when I feel better about my body and my weight. Now that the weather in Chicagoland is getting better, I’ll be out on my bike, hiking and doing stair workouts. I know I need to start weight training too - these post-menopause challenges suck but I refuse to let it win!

(Empress of the Unexpected) #18

One year, maintenance weight, belly squishier than ever. Experimenting with losing more, but in reality, gotta do more planks and pilates.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #19

:metal::muscle: I’m a firm believer in planks. My longest one ever was 4:01. That 1 second mattered. :grin:

(Empress of the Unexpected) #20

Impressive. I’ve only been at two something.

(Little Miss Scare-All) #21

The trick is to drink a lot of cough syrup, and somehow this makes you feel lighter. True story.