Tips for stalls or slowdown

(Julie Barron) #1

Hi all- I’m about three months into LCHF, and while I’ve lost 21 pounds, I’m either inching along now or stalled, not really sure. I have about 10 pounds to go still and I’m wondering what tips helped you in the final stretch? I’ve read I should “mix it up” but I’m not sure how. What worked best for you? TIA.

(Bunny) #2

My Secret Tips:

  1. Didn’t eat too much fat. (blood lipids came back “normal“ were all “abnormal“ before starting the ketogenic diet? All my blood work was “abnormal“ and after 6 months all “normal” and currently “normal”)

  2. Did not eat too much protein (3 or 4 oz. or less; 20 grams is all I really need)

  3. Unlimited carbohydrates (unprocessed plants; leafy greens, cruciferous, stalky veggies, some keto friendly fruits and a little resistant starch = Whole Foods)

Lost all the weight I wanted (150 pounds) and never gained it back again?

Very simple, but when I started following that guru (”…eat more fat, eat more protein…blah blah blah blah?..”) I started stalling and plateauing?

(bulkbiker) #3

Try a short 3 day fast? Always helped me through stalls.

#4

Started tracking my intake, for me I wound up slowing my metabolism and seeing what I ate showed me how bad it was, but for most people that probably isn’t the case (i kind of asked for it) probably just eating to much as a whole or possibly you’re eating way too much fat to loose. Hard to say without knowing what you eat.

#5

for it I was like Mark…but I never did a 3 day fast, I just didn’t eat for a tiny bit longer after I started to get hungry.

So I just ate alot more protein and fat…when hungry again I just let it go a bit longer, say another 4-5 hrs and ate again, alot of protein and fat.

I am zero carb now but came from LCHF. This would help me thru a stall and get things moving a bit more but remember, your body did dump alot of good lbs for you already, those last ones we want off never come ‘fast enough’ so key is stay on your plan tight and just even if ya get 1/2 lb here and there it is still dropping even if slow :slight_smile:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

Fat loss slows down as we reach a healthy weight. If your weight is stable for another month or so, you can view yourself as stalled, or you can consider this weight to be what your body considers desirable. People often buy into the hyperbole about keto, without understanding that the primary benefit of eating this way is the restoration of metabolic health, and that the loss of excess fat is actually a side effect of the restoration to health. On the other hand, sometimes our body can be persuaded to make adjustments, so don’t give up hope just yet.

Also, for what it’s worth, I lost sixty to eighty pounds during my first nine months of eating this way, and then, over the following twelve months I continued to get thinner, even though my weight was stable. So don’t rule out the possibility of some body recomposition going on. Be sure to use the fit of your clothing as a metric, in addition to the number on the scale.

Also, for what it’s worth, Dr. Stephen Phinney says that when people are feeling stuck, the first thing to try is to cut their carb intake, and if that doesn’t work, to try increasing fat. Under no circumstances, he advises, should we increase carb intake.

(Karen) #7

Per meal or per day??

(KCKO, KCFO) #8

I lost those last few lbs. with mixing intermittent fasting worked up to 18/6 for most days, and a 3 day fast. That got me a few lbs. below my goal weight. I have maintained it within a 3 lb. range for over 3 years now. I eat moderate protein, lots of keto approved veggies (ave. 25-50 grams per day) and healthy fats, enough to keep me from getting hungry between meals. I gave up measuring and just concentrated on keeping the carbs low, along with fasting if I get a slight bounce up which will happen from time to time.

Good luck sorting yourself out.

(Ken) #9

Which, of course, is the third option after the other two don’t work.

It amazes me how ignorant the average “Keto Guru” is of Metabolic Issues. Issues that have been experienced, defined, and protocols developed to solve, all within the Fitness and Athletic Community for over 20 years now. Nor how many appear to be ignorant of the role of Glycogen in relation to Lipostasis, and how easy it is to maintain, without restricting carbs to “Nutty Keto Dogma” levels. ( not nutty for fat loss and normalization, just nutty for Maintenance)

(Kenny Croxdale) #10

It’s hard to say without knowing more information. So, let go over some basic information.

Metabolic Adaptation

The problem is that at some point, your body adapts to the number of calories that you are consuming; aka “The General Adaptation Syndrome.” This occurs in all diets. It is a natural survival mechanism.

The MATADOR Weight Loss Study

The MATADOR Study found the body learn and adapts to a new calorie intake in about two weeks.

Their study demonstrated that by rotating calories every two week, plateaus were overcome.

The key is once you hit your plateau, increase you calorie intake approximately 20% for two weeks. Some weight gain is going to occur.

The following two weeks, then decrease you calorie intake 20%. You will end up losing the weight you gained and more.

The research showed that fat loss was maximized while muscle mass was preserved with this method.

Yo-Yo Dieting

This term is usually associated with individual who go on a diet, get frustrated and then go back to their previous eating habits; consuming a lot more calories.

As you know, they gain the weight that they lost back, plus even more.

The MADAOR Diet method manipulates the Yo-Yo Diet in a positive way; breaking your weight loss plateau.

The underlying principle of rotating calorie has been used by Bodybuilder, as a means of increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat/body weight for decades.

As the saying goes, “Everything works but nothing work forever.”

When it stops working, you need to change something.

Kenny Croxdale

(Julie Barron) #12

Thanks for the reply. I’ve been carb cycling- one carb meal every five days- and thought that would be enough to avoid this?

#13

The occasional higher calorie day sounds way better. You don’t do keto if you regularly have carby days… If you never got fat adapted, it probably goes very seriously against it, hopefully someone know these things and will say what is the case. But even fat adapted, going off keto every 5 days (I guess a carby meal means you go above your ketosis carb limit, that is quite low for most of us) is probably not a good idea especially if you want to lose fat.

I am the last person to give advice through personal experience about losing fat but if I stall, I should eliminate or minimize the not satiating items in my diet (it can be very different for others but if I stall, it’s always due to eating too much because my food isn’t satiating/satisfying enough. I usually blame the carbs and I am right in my own case). While still keeping my occasional higher-calorie day. I never could stop having them anyway so I don’t know if they help but probably they nudge my body and tell it that there is no famine, metabolism should stay nice, thank you.