To encourage others! :)

#1

Hello everyone… a little while back I shared about how an egg/bacon fast (or diet, whatever you want to call it) for a few days really broke a long time stall for me, and I mean a LONG TIME STALL… like… no matter what I could not get my body back to what I knew it could be, for 18 years of different diets (but I’ve been keto for about a year now). I lost a few pounds right away with that experiment!

Well, since that egg/bacon experiment, I’ve learned something else. My body (5’3 - 5’4 38 year old frame) is EXTREMELY sensitive to carbs. 20 net carbs (which means even more actual carbs) was really not helping me lose the last bit of body-fat, at all!! So for the past several weeks I’m just staying as close to zero as possible. My goal for the last 18 years (lol) was to get to 130… but I could never make it under 137. It took me a year to get to 134, and now I’m at 126!! My husband is like… “um please stop [getting smaller]” lol (ok, yeah I think my effort is finally complete). (Also I do know the scale isn’t the best tool because it can lie, but I KNOW my body because I’ve been with this body for 38 years) but it really is just a gauge for me… All my pants are too big on me now, so I’ve been slowly replacing all my jeans… which has been fun. lol …. for the past IDK how many years I’ve been a size 8 and now I’m a size 4…

So anyway, being as close to zero carb is really the main point for me now. You know what that means? Cutting back on packaged keto-bars, keto-fat-bombs, cutting back on almond flour mug cakes, cutting back on my giant portioned riced-cauliflower, cutting back on halo-top ice cream, etc. I don’t feel like I’m being restricted or missing out on anything, because staying closer to zero carbs actually makes me fuller and I’m not even hungry for some of that other crap.

So anyway… give it a try, staying close to zero as you can, because stuff adds up. :slight_smile: See what happens!

(FRANK) #2

Congrats on your progress! Can you share what your egg/bacon fast routine?

#3

Thanks! :slight_smile: So, for the first time around, I did just bacon. For three days. I basically got a whole bunch of bacon ready (I don’t remember how much because my plan was just to eat until I was full) and munched on it though the day. Dipped it in ranch, or just ate it plain.

The second time around I did mostly eggs, with also some bacon. But it’s really easy to get sick of eggs if all you do is eat hard boiled eggs, and scrambled eggs, etc. So what I did is I googled egg fast recipes and made interesting things (but also ate traditional egg stuff because I do like them… like hard boiled eggs and deviled eggs, etc). Again, I just ate until I was full, but I think if you google egg fast or egg diet, you can find some typical guidelines. It’s something like, eat at least 6 eggs per day, + 6 oz of fat + you’re also ALLOWED to have 6 oz of cheese but you don’t have to. But I didn’t keep track of any of that. I just ate if I was hungry and stopped when full. :slight_smile:

(Carl Keller) #4

Congrats KetoMom. :slight_smile:

You should be proud of how far you’ve come on the scale and with understanding how food really affects you. Most people go their whole lives without ever having a clue.

#5

Good info on the topic:

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #6

Congrats on sticking to just the basics and feeling better!

#7

this is good (the link about the atkins fat fast, etc) but there are a few things in that blog I don’t agree with based on other stuff I’ve read and what worked for me. I don’t agree with restricting the calories (just eat when hungry, stop when full. This still works on a meat/egg/fat fast). Also it’s true that you can’t lose several pounds of fat that quickly, but for me what I noticed is that it helped my metabolism and I did not regain any weight, in fact I continued to lose a few pounds over the course of a few weeks after I did the fast (so initially I lost a couple right away, and then I continued to lose and get smaller in my size). :slight_smile: Thank you for sharing!

#8

so true. It makes me so, so sad. People can heal so many diseases by changing how they eat. Not just diabetes and heart health, either. I’m watching my 17 year old daughter struggle through an eating disorder - bulimia (she is getting professional help now) and I just wish I could shake her and say “look what you’re doing to yourself” . By the way she eats/doesn’t eat/throws up, her stomach is in pain all the time, she hardly has any energy, she has headaches, she’s depressed… on the outside to her friends she seems so happy. The frustrating thing is, she knows what this is doing, but she can’t stop, and I can’t stop her (I don’t lecture her because she literally knows and has researched all the effects this is having on her, I just make sure she knows I love her and helping her get through therapy). I think keto could heal her too. But her other problem is she’s an extremely picky eater. :slight_smile: Has been been, since she was a baby! Anyway… that was a lot of TMI but yes, people could heal so much if they REALLY knew the relationship between their food and their bodies. Well, with my daughter it’s much more than that, obviously (psychologically etc) … but yeah.

#9

My question to you-
If you’re staying near 0 carbs, what are you eating every single day? How many calories are you consuming? Do you eat any vegetables?

I ask because I am near the same age and have also done all the diets over the years. Nothing works. I’m trained in fitness nutrition and have coached many people through weight loss programs successfully.
However, my body does not respond to anything I’ve tried. I’ve been on Keto for just over 2 weeks now and as I can tell I’ve gotten smaller, I haven’t lost a single pound on the scale.
I know the scale doesn’t mean much, but I find it weird that I didn’t even lose the initial water weight that everyone talks about.
I don’t eat mug cakes or ice cream(allergic to dairy). The worst thing I eat is probably my Keto muffin, but it’s 1net carb and my fat bombs are the same.

(Carl Keller) #10

@KetoMomof2teens I hope your daughter finds her way past bulimia. Interestingly, there are some who found a ketogenic diet helped them. It seems reasonable to assume since processed foods cause our horomones to act irrationally, that getting those out of her life might lead to improving her eating behavior. Of course, being a picky eater makes it very challenging.

I’m sure you can find some success stories if you do a search for Bulimia here on the forum. :slight_smile:

#11

Hi Jamie - first what I would say is, after 2 weeks, if you can tell you’ve gotten smaller, then, whoa that is awesome! :slight_smile: I think it took me months and months to actually see the scale move once I started keto, and even then, it didn’t move much, but I knew I had gotten smaller. When friends would ask me how much weight I’ve lost on keto so far, I’d be like “none… lol” :slight_smile: But I knew it was working because I was getting smaller … but it might also have to do with how much you need to lose. If you don’t have a lot to lose, it’s harder, first of all… slower, and the differences you see will not start with the scale.

As for what I eat usually… here’s a typical day for me. But I have absolutely no clue how many calories I eat. I don’t track them, or macros. I just eat when hungry, stop when full, and make sure I’m eating fatty protein… but not go crazy with excess fat. Like, a hamburger patty doesn’t need half a cup of mayo on it, lol (and also, ew). A tablespoon of mayo + cheese, is good, etc.
Breakfast: coffee with heavy whipping cream and monk fruit sweetener
Lunch: not hungry until at least 1pm, sometimes 2pm – some kind of fatty meat or eggs. Last week a few times my lunch was 2 hard boiled eggs with a homemade “yum yum” sauce (mayo base). That’s all I was hungry for! And a couple pieces of Sam’s Swiss dark chocolate (the only one I buy if I don’t make home made chocolate).
Dinner: Usually salmon, ground beef or hamburger patty, or fatty chicken with some kind of homemade creamy recipe, etc. I add butter to my salmon. These are just basics, I usually find creative recipes using these meats and fats. Oh, the other day I made a sausage/egg casserole and had that for dinner. It had spinach in it.

I would say I eat more eggs than any other meat. There’s so many ways to eat an egg and not be bored of it. And so many different fats to incorporate with it. I love egg/cream cheese pancakes!! (no almond flour or coconut flour).

For veggies, I used to eat a LOT of cauliflower and broccoli but my stomach doesn’t digest them well at all. I can’t stand too much fiber in anything. So I actually have reduced my veggie intake a lot, which I also think was racking up my carbs. I’ve done a lot of research on this too, and I don’t think I’m causing any mineral deficiencies as long as I’m eating enough meat. But I do take magnesium because I can tell it helps keep leg cramps away for me.

I’m not usually hungry enough to snack, but if I do, it’s usually a bit of dark chocolate.

I also drink one cup of organic chicken stock (from Costco) about once a day. In a mug. It tastes good!

#12

Oh, girl! I also noticed you weight lift a lot during the week. That could be why you’re not losing actual pounds. Gaining muscle weight. I was lifting at first too which I think made a difference in how much “weight” I was losing/not losing. I reduced my weight lifting to once a week, but that’s only because I hate working out and want to do the bare minimum. lol.

#13

I love weight lifting and have been doing it for a long time. I hate cardio or other types of exercise, mind you I do a fast treadmill walk after my workouts for about 20 mins.

I weigh 158 this morning. Usually I sit at 155. I’m 5’6, 37yo.
I am quite muscular, but I have considerable amounts of fat (for my size) on my back and hips. This is what I’m hoping to reduce.
I know I can’t just eat meat and eggs all day every day though… but mind you my digestion is and always has been pretty bad. The only time I was ever regular was when I was a vegetarian. So basically I’m screwed haha

#14

Ugh, yeah, the whole process is frustrating and so much we have to figure out about our own bodies. :slight_smile:

#15

And I also hate cardio. Weight lifting is definitely the way to go! I did YEARS of cardio and for what? Nothing good, that’s for sure!! All I did was burn about a cup of ice-cream worth of calories each time, and put unnecessary stress on my hips and knees, and waste 40 minutes of time I could have been doing something else like watching TV with my kids. I think cardiovascular-health can be achieved with some light walking and by eating keto. :slight_smile: So yeah def. keep up the weights. It’s good you love it!

(Jeannine Hunter) #16

@KetoMomof2teens @JamieBC I just turned 50, and I’ve been doing keto and 18/6 intermittent fasting since last January but spent most of the year up and down the same 4 lbs. This month I cut out dairy, and I’ve lost another 10 lbs. All in all, I’m down 20 lbs and have lost 13.5" on bust, waist and hips. Now, I’m stalled again. I might try a week long fast to see if I can break through the next barrier. I’ve been tracking and recording numbers and measurements All in all, nothing was working for me until I did the keto and intermittent fasting. I only eat 2 meals a day, lunch and dinner, with a small portion of veggies. But I would like to lose another 10 at least. Each person is different, but if you stall, you need to change something. Sometimes, its just a little tweak. Good luck on your journey!!

#17

Thanks, Jeannine! That’s cool you found some stuff that works for you, too. Awesome that you lost 10 lbs after a year of the same 4 lbs back and forth!! I usually do 16 hour fasting each evening/day (naturally, just not hungry until about 15.5 or 16 hour mark), but can’t really tell if it actually makes a difference. I tried a couple 24 hour fasts before, and they were so brutal, I just can’t ever try that again… lol. I thought I was gonna die.

#18

I can imagine going a year with nothing working.
I don’t eat dairy (allergic)
I’ve been doing 16/8, but might change to 18/6 as it’s becoming comfortable. Hopefully it makes something move…

(Jeannine Hunter) #19

Have you heard of the snake diet? I’m reading about it now. I’m thinking of trying it sometime soon. It’s related to fasting and might help me break through the stall.

#20

I haven’t. I’m currently staring at the clock k owing I have 40 mins left if I need to eat anything else tonight :rofl: