Stopped losing weight after 1 week on Carnivore

(Michael Adams) #1

Stopped losing weight after 1 week on Carnivore. Week 1 both of us lost weight : ) - 3 weeks in and going on 4th week now and continued cycle of going up and down 1 to 2# and staying the same. Any ideas why? Thanks in advance.

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

You’re going to have to provide more details to get any useful responses. You probably lost water weight the first week as your glycogen dropped. Other than that, what’s your physical situation? What exactly are you eating and how much?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #3

People often say it takes up to six months on carnivore before really seeing changes. In the meantime, try not to obsess about the scale. If you do a forum search for the carnivore videos thread, you will find a lot of useful information there.

(Michael Adams) #4

Thanks for the replies. Perhaps I am on the wrong diet then. But I have viewed dozens, probably about 50 or more and it seemed that most all benefited from a good weight loss to a healthy weight. Yes and other side health benefits.

But overwhelmingly I must have been misled about it, although I remember seeing several who were going to try 30 days, but seen weight loss, then went to 60, 90 and some boasting they never left it since they were on it.

We eat simple as we are both picky. 3-4 eggs and bacon every morning for breakfast. Wagyu Hamburger or summer sausage and cheese for lunch, and dinners are Ribeye every other night with Seafood or Chicken in between. No carbs, just Meat, Eggs, Cheese.

And I have met a few people now including our butcher at the grocery store who has been a carnivore for 3 years, he weighed 310# and went down to 170# in a little under a year and is maintain now.

I guess it works for some, but I convinced my wife to try this for 30-60 days, and she was reluctant, but willing. If she seen change by then I know shed stay on it, but 6 months or more to start?

That’s a disappointment. But thanks for the advice…

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

It seems to me you’re being a bit pessimistic, here. Just because you haven’t seen the results you want in only a few weeks, you’re giving up? By mentioning six months, I was trying to encourage you to keep at it.

Keto is an adjustment from the high-carb standard promoted by the government and other organisations. And carnivore is a whole additional adjustment from keto. You can’t expect instant results. Your body needs time to heal and repair, so why not give it time? You may be surprised by the results.

Go on YouTube and look for Kelly Hogan’s channel. I think you will find her videos very encouraging.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #6

Thanks for the additional details. So long, good luck.

#7

It’s a very short time, many carnivores don’t lose fat quickly even if they have much to lose, I find it perfectly normal. You can’t even say you surely don’t lose fat, you just don’t lose weight. But maybe your body do something more important than losing fat, who knows? I have read enough stories to know it’s very complicated and fat-loss may take a very lot time or maybe you need tweaking later… Or if you are like me, you don’t lose fat because you eat too much - though it’s not so easy for me to pull off on carnivore… Still, even if I actually stick to it for weeks, I need a lot of time to have a chance to see a change on the scale or on my clothes as my energy need is smallish and my body never throws away its precious reserves but it doesn’t accept very little food (smart body).

But some people find they should fast or skip dairy etc. First I think patience and sticking to the woe is the right way. (Even if I have my problems with it and only stay close but it still gave me great benefits. No fat-loss yet but I am sure that will happen too as I see my problems causing getting fat and keeping me from losing disappear.)

@Fangs who has a very popular thread every month and is a veteran carnivore, eats to her heart’s content and loses quite slowly. Just like a few others.

You won’t magically quickly slim down just because you don’t eat plants and fungi, it doesn’t work that way. Surely it happens for some. And some people gain on carnivore, why not, it’s not impossible, weight/fat changes aren’t all about our carb intake or plant consumption…

Many people think keto or IF or whatever automatically causes fat-loss, well, nope, I would be slim ages ago then, after all that keto IF, never any noticeable fat-loss (except on my OMAD week and on my carni weeks when I ate little). Carnivore may do the trick but only if I focus on eating the right things, many others have this. What do you eat? If you eat dairy, it may be the (or one) problem. I am sure I would never lose fat eating a significant amount of added fat, even the type of meat matters (me and chicken. not a good idea).

Oh, cheese. If it’s a bit, I wouldn’t think it’s the culprit but if you have no better idea after months, you may skip it. Or earlier if it’s not a big problem. Much cheese may interfere, sure.

#8

As they always say, it took a lifetime to get to this point. It isn’t going to change overnight.

(Michael Adams) #9

To be (politely) clear, I do not expect any diet to loose a ton of weight over night, but after 3 weeks on any diet, isn’t it normal to loose weight after 3 weeks? I’m not talking 3 days, but 3 weeks.
I am asking because we probably will hold fast to this and give it a good 6 weeks, but it is disappointing to see tons of people who are boasting and showing significant weight loos, and we are holding fast and seeing basically zip.
I appreciate the encouragement I get but there is a pragmatic result to be had at some point and I would like to know where to draw the line.
Again thanks for any encouragement.

(Jane) #10

What is your current height and weight? A 310# man will lose a lot faster than a 180# man trying to lose 15 lbs.

(Michael Adams) #11

Thanks… I’m not so worried for me as for my wife.
I’m 5’6" 212# yesterday
Wife 5’1" 229# yesterday August 1st she was at 332#
Not giving up but we were doing the same things with Atkins.
Atkins allows 20 Carbs. seen and researched Carnivore and with 0 carbs, it made sense that it would be different and we would see weight loss. But seems to make no difference if we have carbs or not.
** additional info… 2 years ago we both carried over 60 more pounds, (I weighed 270) then we seemed to plateau… We have been at this weight for almost a year now and cant seem to get any lower no matter what. When I fasted for 5 days, nothing but water, I gained 3 pounds.
And we are not sedentary, we are active, walk, swim, snorkel, kayak, low impact activities and our bodies can endure, me with bad ankles and knees, her with her limitations, so jogging and such is out.
But we stick to diets but seem to grab Carbs from breathing oxygen or something…
** Keto is not an option as we don’t either one like plants and vegetables.
Thanks

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

I’m sorry you are not experiencing the results you expected. You might get better information from one of the carnivore Web sites. A well-formulated ketogenic diet can be carnivore, but it need not be, and the carnivores here are, I suspect, a minority of our membership.

What we know from general keto experience is that fat loss is not a linear process, and we don’t consider a few weeks of unchanging weight to be a stall (a few months would be a different situation). I assume this is true of a carnivore diet as well. We also know that it is possible for some people to gain lean mass even while shedding fat mass, and this confuses the scale, which is why we advise using the fit of one’s clothing as an additional indicator of progress. This is also probably true of ZC/carnivore eating.

I also know, from reading posts by carnivores, that many of them took six or so months to fully adapt to their new way of eating, which is why I encourage you to consult said carnivore Web sites for advice and encouragement. The adaptation to carnivore was in addition to the adaptation they experienced when going keto.

Of course, you could simply return to eating carbohydrates in whatever quantity you consider advisable. No one is forcing you to go carnivore, after all. But that said, it does appear that you might benefit from giving ZC/carnivore a longer trial before making up your mind that it is not for you.

#13

You guys are ok.

You are putting weight loss as what carnivore is all about…weight loss will come…but the key factor is heal the body thru this eating, detox off any old crappy foods you ate before this plan, wait til the body starts healing the hormones and resets itself and this takes time.

Plus take measurements or go by a tight pair of pants and judge your ‘leaning out’ but not losing on the scale. You can drop a darn size in clothes without losing 1 lb on the scale :slight_smile:

Carnivore, if you are wanting better results drop the cheese. All dairy. Dairy is a known killer for effecting our bodies…some do ok eating it and don’t notice issues, but once dairy is dropped people do actually start to lose weight more on a common time line ya know.

How much are you guys eating? Are you limiting yourself? Or eating to full satiaty? Eating to full satiaty is important actually.

Time. Carnivore takes time. We are all different and all lose at our own rates and our bodies heal on our own timeline…you guys hang in there :slight_smile: You will see changes and alot of benefits come from this plan but a month is not long at all…rock out another 2 months and see then where you stand.

Plus it is great you love the meats! There isn’t one veggie I miss on this eating plan HAHA so you are on the right path…just give it more time.

#14

But you clearly lost fat as it’s impossible not to in that situation (except maybe if there is a condition where the fat reserves are impossible to reach so the body lowers metabolism and uses muscles only. but it probably feels horrible, if the fast is easy enough, one probably loses fat, I would think).
And I hope you don’t think you gained a lot of fat from the air (while using a significant amount of energy to fuel your body)… Such thing doesn’t exist, no matter what certain people say, starving people showed that enough times during history.

Losing fat through a seemingly decent energy deficit, that doesn’t work for everyone but an extended fast… The energy must come from somewhere.
No WEIGHT-loss clearly shows your body started to retain more water but some changes in the other direction must have happened.

#15

Try to think of it as a way of eating, and not a temporary diet as a fix. These ways of eating are more about normalisation, and fat loss is a consequence of your body healing.

It can be frustrating when you don’t lose fat in a hurry; we’re all keen for instant results, not least because advertising and testimonials make us believe that 30-60-90 day transformations are achievable. The key is that they’re not necessarily sustainable long term, whereas this way of eating should be a more measured approach. Your losses may be slower, but they should be sustainable in the long term.

Lots of people find that carnivore takes a long period to settle in. The best description I’ve read of this is that you’re suddenly feeding your body with dense nutrition that it can easily utilise, and all of the functions your body has had on hold (from hair growth to heat) suddenly kick into action.

It’s difficult when all you want to see is the number on the scale going down, but your body might prioritise other functions before it starts to lose fat. As the others have said, put the scale away and try to focus on the fit of your clothes - and be prepared for a slower journey; this isn’t a crash diet where you lose a stone in a fortnight, but you will lose fat and change shape as you progress through the weeks.

That would be my recommendation, anyway. I really felt for you reading your post, because I would’ve liked to have seen faster fat loss - but I know that so much has improved (including things like mental health, skin, body heat) alongside the fat loss that’s occurred, I know that my body is fixing things. It took a few years to get into this situation; I think it’s reasonable to be patient and give my body the same amount of time to get out of it.

Stick around and chat with us in the carnivore thread - hopefully we can help as you go along your journey.

#16

Michael, welcome to the forum.

Best to throw away the body weight scales. Body weight on its own is a poor indicator of health and changes in body composition.

Your food eating and physical activity sound very good, and you are both obviously experienced in low carb ways of eating.

A better measurement of health improvement is clothes fit, and working on getting into the skinny jeans. Another successful motivator and indicator of improvement is taking a face portrait ‘selfie’ each week in the same light conditions. Seeing the changes in a photo timeline is heaps better than body scale weight.

I haven’t read all the replies but can see many of the more knowledgeable than me have already answered. They probably mentioned about eating enough food on carnivore so you don’t feel hungry. If weight loss is the goal then avoid anything containing linoleic acid which is an 18 carbon polyunsaturated fat usually found in highly processed industrial seed oils, also known as vegetable oils. For some people stopping eating dairy can help weight loss. Also if weight loss is the goal more-so than other goals, like relieving joint pain by reducing inflammation, then do not add fat to the animal products, and only eat the fats that are combined within them as an animal product wholefood. If you are finding that you do not wake up feeling hungry, then skip a morning meal and eat 2 meals per day, but remember to eat enough, until no hunger, to convince your body it does not need to store fat from each meal.

Someone has probably said stay on plan. But you are correct in saying that you have to find what is right for you and your wife for her. You have tasted success in the past, and if you remain curious and motivated, you will again. Thanks for trusting us to suggest some tips.

(Michael Adams) #17

Eating until full. One of the things that is helping her and me to stay on diet.

(Michael Adams) #18

Thank you.

(Michael Adams) #19

Thanks for your advice…

(Robin) #20

Pretend this is on a Loud Speaker. Step away from the scales! And the calendar!
Just stay the course and trust the process and your body. One week, three weeks, three months can feel like an eternity when you are weighing yourself and keeping track of your progress that way. Stay under 20 carbs, and the rest will follow.

I am heading into carnivore-land organically, it just was a natural progression. I feel great. But it isn’t for anyone, especially if you are struggling. BUT the scales should not be part of your struggle. They are often the last to show up, while you’re body is changing, shrinking, you’re buying new clothes, you feel healthier and more awake and energetic. It can happen fast or slow. It can go in jumps and slumps. Just stay under 20. You got this.