Stalled and Frustrated......HELP

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #1

Good morning Keto Friends. I’m super frustrated. I am a 53 yr old woman who started not being able to control my weight as I did my whole life.
My husband and I started The Keto diet 50 days ago. My starting weight was 143 and I began to slowly drop a little each week. My goal weight is 125. I continued to drop weight till I hit sept 7 when I weighed in at 135.2. Since then each week I weighed in at 135.4 and this week 136. I haven’t changed anything and I’m really watching and tracking my macros which are carbs 5%, Fat 80% and protein 15%.
I workout 30-60 min 4-5 days a week AND I haven’t cheated.
My ketone levels on the breath meter always stay between 0.9 and 1.9 so I’m not going out of ketosis.
What do I do?

(David K) #2

I know it’s frustrating but… KCKO!

#3

For sure, KCKO. I’ve been at the same weight the past 6 weeks. I’ve just been enjoying myself with bacon and fried cheese…mmmmm.

(MooBoom) #4

After an initial substantial loss I’ve gained and lost the same kilo for 5 weeks now, been keto for 11 weeks. Constantly in keto. As I understand it this is completely normal, and can go on for a couple months until your body stops freaking out at all the changes you’ve thrown at it, adjusts and starts to get with the program.

So stick with it and let your body get used to things at its own pace, if you haven’t seen the plateau shift after a few months you might want to look at what you’re eating and when with more scrutiny.

Good luck and KC&KO!

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #5

What is KCKO? I’m new on here and don’t know the lingo yet. I’m enjoying eating keto and will continue, I get frustrated too because my husband loses ounces everyday and is at 20+ lbs weight loss. I stick to 1200 calories a day too.

(MooBoom) #6

It means Keep Calm and Keto On :blush:

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #7

Thankyou. I’m trying.

(MooBoom) #8

You stick to 1200 calories a day?! That’s highly likely your problem.

Forget about calories in calories out it’s a load of tosh. Type CICO into the search engine on the forum and read up on the wealth of info here. Also search metabolic rate. Listen to the Dudes podcasts on each subject too if you can.

Keto is not about calorie restriction. Eat below 20g net carbs a day, moderate protein (try not to exceed 1-1.5g of protein per kilo of lean body mass as a starting point) and eat fat to satiety. For real. Don’t measure calories, listen to your body. Eat when hungry, stop when satiated. It’s maddeningly simple when all is said and done :blush:

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #9

That’s where I get confused because some articles say to still count calories in addition for weight loss. I’m really not hungry for much more than that. I have a hearty bulletproof coffe in the morning to start. 16oz coffee, 1tbs butter, 1tbs MTC oil, 1tbs heavy cream, 1 scoop collagen peptides and a teaspoon of swerve sweetener. Other than that I have usually 2 meals.

(Allie) #10

Do not restrict calories. Your body can’t do what you want it to do if it doesn’t have the fuel needed for basic operation…

(Jenn Monaghan) #11

Maybe your body is just adjusting to a new lower weight. I often stall for 3 weeks at a time and when that happens I just stop weighing myself for a while and try to increase my green veggies since I’m often way under 20g carbs a day.

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #12

That makes sense. Thankyou. I will stop focusing on the calories and just on the macros.

(Mark Rhodes) #13

That’s because the old mindset still affects some of us. I approached keto as if I knew nothing about nutrition. Hard to do when I spent 20,000 on a 1990 education in sports fitness. Once I did that I began to have success. Also cheer on the miracle stories but recognize you likely are not going to have that happen. Slow plodding progress for us! ( except after time you will have a steady downward trend on the tape measure if not the scale)

You also may be adding more lean tissue as you heal. That’s why NSV (Non Scale Victory) is a more reliable method.

If I were to tweak I would add minimum 500kcal of butter, oil, mayo, avocado for two weeks. see what that 1800-2000 budget does. It will lower you protein macro but you just might need the extra energy to run all your body systems properly. The body needs energy to run digestion, brain, respiration, immune etc. Feed those systems, let your BMR climb up. It is crucial to not starve the body but to let it know you are no longer going to restrict energy allotments. It will respond kindly.

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #14

So I read an article if your stalling to respark the weight loss by having a bulletproof coffee in the morning then only eat ground hamburger smothered in butter for the next 2 meals and nothing else. For 2 days. So there would only be .8 carbs for those 2 days. Anybody ever try something like that?

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #15

Wow. That really helps. Yes, it is so hard to get away from the old ways of thinking. Especially restriction. I’m going to add even more fat. I’m hoping it’s that my body hasn’t had enough fuel for my workouts AND burning fat.

The scale definetly is my enemy. I feel so much better in my clothes and feel like myself again. Even though I’m not all The way there yet. I just get so hard on myself with the stupid numbers.

(Liz ) #16

I hear you, it is really hard to know if you are doing the right thing when the scale is betraying you lol. Men lose weight so differently on Keto than women so please don’t be tempted to compare your experiences. You are getting some great advice here on the forums, I hope you can wait out this frustrating part! My biggest issue at the start was IMPATIENCE so I get that. Glad you are enjoying some non-scale victories while you wait for your bod to catch up on its healing. KCKO!

(Allie) #17

Just keep carbs below 20g and protein between 50 - 75g and plenty of healthy fats (aim for at least 120g daily and don’t stress if it goes over). No need to do keto coffees or restrict yourself to burgers or anything else. Eat, nourish your body, and enjoy the process.

(Mark Rhodes) #18

Yes. I lift, was doing 5x a week but recently looked into Doug McGuff 12 minute workout. Like Keto I threw all i knew out and approached it as learning it new. Great results so far. But the Dudes have podcasts about exercise that you could listen to. Basically any routine only goes through 200-300 kcal. that is only 10% of your energy expenditures. The body allots based on need much like a household budget. 10% for work outs. 25_35 % brain, fasting? None for digestion next couple days, got a cold coming on? Spend more energy there and turn down the thermostat (BMR) so we have enough to spend. Over feeding is actually adequate feeding. Once the body realizes it got a raise, like us, it will not save it it will spend it on goodies like more muscle, better memory retention, better hair etc. Glad you are here Kerry.

(Jen) #19

I feel your pain.
In week 4 of no weight loss right now, but like everyone’s recommending… I just keep keepin’ on.

Not gonna lie, it’s mentally very hard to not see progress on the scale, and I’m constantly trying to figure out WHY it’s not happening… but what I’m finding is, no one really has the answer. There are tons and tons of theories – and I believe a lot of them are actually correct theories – but knowing which one is correct for you specifically is the part that I think is only going to come with trial and error.

Unfortunately that means while we’re testing all the theories, we’re going to have to be patient. That scale might not move for a good while, while we figure things out… and that’s going to be hard for those of us who want to see results RIGHT NOW. But what’s the alternative? Go back to the old SAD diet that we know is bad for our bodies? Certainly not. So I guess I’ll just KCKO!

I do suggest you listen to Shawn Mynar’s “Keto for Women” podcast if you have a chance. Lots of great info directed specifically at women, and lots of good stuff about why we experience these stalls and/or resistant weight loss. Might at least help you mentally as your body figures out what the heck it’s doing. :slight_smile:

(Kerry Swarthout O'keefe) #20

Thankyou so much. I will definitely find his podcasts and listen. I have no desire to go back to regular eating. I like eating keto. I guess I’m going to try to up my calories a lttlle and up my fat. See what happens. The stall has coincided with me working out more often. I may just need more fuel.