Very frustrated. Ketos are "Small" but I'm either not losing or gaining weight

(Pennee R Atkinson) #1

First, thank you for creating this place. I think I am going mad. I’ve been on a semi Ketogenic diet for about 1.5 weeks and haven’t lost any weight and yesterday I went to a restaurant and had Shrimp with Lobster sauce because I read it was a good Keto choice for a Chinese restaurant. I also had a big bunch of saute’d green beans with garlic. I weighed about 192 yesterday and was 197 just now when I weighted myself. I’m thinking some of this is salt as I don’t know how much they put in the dish. Either way it is so disheartening.

I have only gotten past “Small” on the test strips once and that was the next level over that says medium or something like that. I’ve never gotten to the dark purple colors. I always thought that at least I was burning some fat and I can’t understand how that does not translate to weight loss. And I have read here to be patient but I wanted to share what I have been eating and see if there are any suggestions. Like should I really try to get the Keto strips into that dark purple color and how to do it? I have to say that my stomach is not distended like it was and that is great. I think staying off grains is great for me.

I have IBSC and asthma

So I am 5 foot 4 inches and today 197 pounds. I eat eggs, cheese, (although I am trying to switch to almond cheese because dairy gives me a problem. I realize that is more carbohydrates also. I haven’t eaten any fruit but I’ve eaten avocados and vegetables like spinach and tomatoes I also must admit that as a treat I grab a few tablespoons of cream cheese and spray some fruit punch stevia water enhancer on it to give it a flavor…kind of trying to make it seem like a cheese cake. I wonder if this is defeating my purpose.

Oh and last night, (I have problems with eating at night…don’t know why) I ate a couple handfuls of macadamia nuts.

Today I ate an egg with a small amount of spinach and tomatoes. Then I ate a steak and some “Skinny noodles” (Konjac noodles which are a Japanese vegetable and have 0 MACROS) I also put Pesto Sauce I got from Costco, 1/4 cup which is 4 grams of carbohydrates. I also ate a couple tablespoons of cream cheese with the water enhancer in it.

I love mayonnaise and it says that it has no carbs. I like egg salad and I feel like making some egg salad to eat in a while.

The big problem I have is exercising. I became quite sedentary after I hurt my back a couple years ago. That was the start of the problem but the reason I stay that was is laziness I believe because I have a gym membership and there are exercises I can do.

When I say IBSC it means that I have a lot of problem with constipation which is one of the reasons I think eating vegetables is OK. But maybe they are too many carbs?

Thanks so much for any help you may have. I am very frustrated here.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #2

1.5 weeks is nothing. I didn’t start losing until three weeks, and your body is going through a healing process. I am on week seven and very cautious about eating out because I don’t know what is in some of the sauces (sugar?, etc.) Purple on the strips is not a goal. I did not register trace until three weeks. Just stay under 20 carbs a day and eat moderate protein, and fat to satiety. Keto is a log-term proposal. Read through all the threads on the forum - great info.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #3

And don’t worry about exercising for a few weeks. Your body is really busy. You can exercise later.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #4

Leafy greens and cruciferous veggies are good.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #5

What exactly do you mean by a “semi ketogenic diet”?

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #6

You are not burning fat yet, you are depleting your glucose storage. You may want to do some more research based on the difference between being fat adapted and being in ketosis.

Have you calculated your macros yet?

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(Raj Seth) #7

Doesn’t seem like you are eating enough. Try to eat till you feel full. Really. Just not carbs. Just eat as much fat as you can stand.
Lots of resources on this forum to help you. But you need to eat.

(Pennee R Atkinson) #8

Just that I have been eating vegetables. I suppose that is still ketogenic. I haven’t eaten anything like squash or corn or any vegetable high in carbs but, like at the Chinese place I ordered sautee’d green beans with garlic and it was a big plate of the stuff.

(Pennee R Atkinson) #9

Macros are carbs minus fiber right? Maybe I should keep a better record. I have a carb counting app but I didn’t fill it out since I saw the scale. I’ll start again tomorrow.

(Pennee R Atkinson) #10

What is fat besides bacon, other meats, eggs and cheese? Avocados have some. Oh that’s right, I do have coconut oil and I probably should use it more liberally when I cook egg and saute’ vegetables. I made that bullet coffee a couple times with just the coconut oil but maybe I should make it with butter also? (of yea, butter)

#11

seems to me your body is acting like you have put it into starvation mode and is shutting down to keep you alive. You need to feed it fat and I don’t see where you are doing that. When going through the effort to cook an egg make it 3 of them and some avocado if you do not want meat. But eat till full, then wait till hungry and eat till full again.

(Pennee R Atkinson) #12

Thank you everyone. I have learned a lot from just this thread. I just made a bullet coffee with both the coconut oil and butter. It does seem like these types of fat are going to be good for my digestion. The one thing I didn’t mention that I have noticed since doing Keto is my mind is a lot sharper. I’m not in a fog anymore, probably the fog was from all the carbohydrates.

#13

yes Carbofog is real, due to non of the right brain food (sat fat)

(Sheri Knauer) #14

What exactly do you mean by semi ketogenic diet?

That 5lbs would definitely be water weight. Those sauces at chinese restaurants are notorious for being filled with sugars and starches (for thickening).

You are either producing ketones, or your not. The darker the color of the strip does not mean you are “more in ketosis”, just that you may be on the dehydrated side and should drink more water. As long as ketones are registering on the keto strips, then you are producing ketones.

What product is this you are using? You need to read and be aware of all the ingredients in this water enhancer .

Then don’t eat at night. You may find it works well for you to have your last meal as early as possible that works with your schedule and doesn’t leave you starving at night. If you find you are still hungry at night, then either have a small snack or move your last meal to say 30-60 minutes later than you had the night before and make sure you have plenty of fat in your meal. Your appetite naturally decreases as you become fat adapted so it shouldn’t be an issue for too long.

A lot of mayonnaises have added sugars and use vegetable oils that are not good (Canola and soybean oil for example). The best option for mayonnaise is to make your own. Its really easy and you control exactly what goes into it.

You don’t need to exercise to lose weight. Exercise is good for stress relief and building strong muscles and bones.

I don’t have any experience with IBSC but I have read from others that a keto diet has worked well for them.

I hope that helps. Its only been 1.5 weeks. You have the rest of your life to eat this way so just keep calm and keto on. Stay the course and you will see results. Read as much as you can, listen to podcasts, and watch videos regarding keto. Educating yourself on what keto is, the benefits, and how to do it is so beneficial. The longer you stay keto, you will make adjustments until you find what works best for you because one size does not fit all.

(MooBoom) #15

@Sheri_Knauer
Love that you took the time to patiently respond the way you did. Bravo

(Sheri Knauer) #16

Thanks! I know it can be hard and frustrating when starting out and I have to remember that I was there at one time (almost 2 years keto and hundreds of hours of reading, listening, and watching all aspects of keto).