Stall for too long

(Amira ) #1

Hello,

This is my 161 day in keto - I’ve done a progress of lossing 16 kgs since i started by mid August. I’m losing weight like 1 kg per month for the past 3 months which is very disappointing. my carbs are always less than 20g with an average of 10 max.
Doing IF since i started - 16:20 hours, then last week is up to 24:30 hours whereas scale moved 500g up to 1 kilo - so it worked ok but that’s a very very slow progress. I need to lose 32 kgs more and feeling down :frowning:
Any suggestions to get things back to track - I never cheated and still not losing much!
HELP!

(Jane) #2

You are doing fine! Losing it slower is healthier.

How many years have you been overweight? You’ve only been keto for 6 months - give it time.

You may also need to switch up what you are eating and when you are eating to shake up your body.

What is your current height and weight? What does a typical day’s menu look like for you? With a bit more info folks here are happy to offer advice snd suggestions!

(Amira ) #3

Hi Jane,
I’m 39 - 173 cm. I’m getting my macros of fat and protein (almost every day) calories between 1200 to 1550 ( according to keto calculator, i should have 134g fat/ 74g protien ; 1569 cal.)

a small avocado or 2 (140g both) - 3:4 eggs with cheese OR a tuna can with olive oil OR half a 1 kg chicken fried in ghee. I have some peanuts or almonds or 1sp peanut butter. I don’t have any sweetners.

appreciate it if you have any modifications to apply.

(Jane) #4

What is your current weight and are you female?

1200-1500 calories does not seem enough to me.

#5

I have gone from 320 pounds to 250, with several stalls. For me (might not work for everyone) I let the stall go on for a couple of weeks, then I add MCT oil to my morning coffee and add more fat overall. I tend to continue on the plateau for about a week, then it picks up nicely again. I decided stalls mean that my body decided that famine is upon me (parents starved quite a bit in their life time, and my grandparents even more so, I do believe there are some genetics at at work). However that may be, I need to convince my body that there is no starvation, plenty of fat is to be had and it’s just fine to draw from body fat, it’s not needed because there is fat aplenty. Works for me, seems to be the opposite of what one would do intuitively (cut down more) but apparently gives me just what I need. I do think it is important to add fat, not other things. I want my body to consume lots of fat, one way or another, it should be my go-to.

(Amira ) #6

female - currently 103/104 kg - coming from 119.

(Amira ) #7

i thought abour getting more fat as well - some days it’s 80% fat / 19% protien - but fats are always +70% - trying to get all the calories but it seems difficult to catch in one meal with keeping carbs at the minimum grams.

(Jane) #8

Your OMAD may be contributing to your stall. Maybe try throwing in a TMAD a couple of times a week.

#9

[deprecated part after reading your first comment]
It’s a nice pace, I lost fat that quickly in the very beginning (on low-carb, before keto) when I was still fat… Good old times. I enjoyed my meal, never was hungry and I left borderline obesity right away. I am very patient I admit.

Do you have very much to lose or maybe you feel you restrict yourself very much so this pace is too slow for you?

Oh, I’ve read it now, you eat very little and you weigh way more I ever did. Still, some unlucky ones have a slower natural metabolism… Be patient, slow loss is better than nothing. Or maybe you need even to eat more…? I left that to the more knowledgeable or experienced ones. Definitely don’t try to eat even less. Maybe some slightly longer fasts if it’s comfortable enough for you…? I like big meals and don’t have a high enough energy need for them if I eat them in the frequency I often do so I did my first 48 hour fast and maybe will do more but only if it feels okay.
It’s good to figure out what food choice, timing, macros work best for you but you need your nutrients and quick fat-loss usually requires a high energy need. Even if you find a better method, you should be patient, it will take time.

#10

It’s possible that you are still quite very insulin resistant but some people do lose weight a bit more slower that others.

I don’t think you need to be eating less or anything but I did feel my body used my body fat quite rapidly when I lowered my dietary fat. I of course had to increase my protein a bit but nothing excessive and I was still satiated. If you are already eating quite a low amount of fat, say 75g or less, this of course won’t apply to you. I recommend tracking for a few days to know exactly what grams of each macro you are consuming just to be sure.

Nuts did stall me earlier on my keto journet. I always thought I was eating “just a bit of nuts” but when I tracked it I realised it added to my fat and carbs quite a bit. You may want to remove them from your diet for now or maybe a 28g portion every other week. You can always reincorporate them into your diet in the future.

(Polly) #11

Sounds like a great loss to me! Well done. It did not take you a few months to get fat in the first place so why expect to lose all the fat that quickly?

(Scott) #12

I don’t really think of it as a stall until many months go by. That is where I am at now and I have even picked up a few pounds over the holidays too. I like to make small changes to see what happens. I started back to the gym and some running in the mornings. Today as much as I love cheese I didn’t add any shredded cheese to my eggs. I also didn’t put any heavy whipping cream in them and switched from adding butter to using ghee. I am hoping that eliminating some dairy gets things moving. In the end it doesn’t really matter if or how long I am stalled. I know what going back to the SAD is going to do to me so I don’t stress over it but I do still tweak things to see what happens. I have plenty of time to perfect this.

(Amira ) #13

i did this starting yesterday - thanks.

(Amira ) #14

I key in everything on carb manager since day 1 - weight everything and stricktly calculation macros and modify them according to keto calculator — I’m doing keto by the book :smiley:

(Amira ) #15

these are good points, I will try to change between options to check which is helping and which are not good for me…thanks

#16

Start tracking what you’re eating. Guessing can only get you so far. You need to figure out your metabolism. If may have slowed down… it may have always been slow. You don’t know but you need to figure out where your tipping point is and if it is slow come up with a plan to continue to loose and also get that thing running faster as well. Are you working out or doing physical activity?

#17

That’s good. Then in time, your insulin resistance will correct itself. For now, your progress is still great so keep it up!

(Amira ) #18

Actually not, I have a deskwork that is full of tension and stress which part of my life and i guess one of the reasons why i have slow metabolism

(back and doublin' down) #19

this could be an element in your stall. Stress will prompt cortisol and adrenaline, which slows digestion, and the spiral continues. Is there anything you can do to either cut the stress triggers or learn to respond differently in your work environment, think differently so you can shift out of stress mode?

Search: Vegus Nerve Key to Wellbeing
Find: a plethora of articles on how to activate the Vegus Nerve

All boil down to Breathe Deep, Exhale Slowly ~ that tells the Vegus Nerve that everything will be ok and in turn the VN lets the rest of the body know to relax, danger passed.

Will also add that I ‘stalled’ for almost a year. But, my body was doing stuff. I lost inches. I lost several sizes in clothes. I kept on keeping on and keeping keto and worked on my stress. Again slowly dropping.

(Scott) #20

My week is getting interesting. After a stall and increase of seven “holiday” pounds I have made a few changes. I eliminated cheese and dairy from my breakfast and modified my lunch to some cold cuts and cheese with an egg. When I got on the scale my weigh is down a couple of pounds but the weird thing is my body fat % has been slowly creeping up to 23% but dropped two whole percentage points this week and it is only Tuesday. I know the scale BF% is not necessarily accurate but it does correlate closely with the size of my belly. Now I am curious where this will go the rest of the week.