Weight loss halted

(Jennifer M) #1

I have been losing weight steady since April 2019 until December 2019. I have lost a total of 86lbs but no matter what I do eat more eat less it doesn’t change the scale same 4-6lbs up at night and then 4-6 lost in the morning
I am at a lost and feeling defeated because I can’t get the scale moving to lose my last 55lbs
Can anyone help me or give ideas or insight how I can get mentally back in the game and get these last 50lbs off
Please help

#2

First of all, congrats on 86lbs! I’m in the 100lb club myself so I know from experience those of us that loose a lot of weight we seem to stall out harder than many others when it finally catches up with us. When you say “Eat more, eat less” does that mean you’re actually tracking? Or just doing the eating to satiety and holding back, throwing in more type of thing? Are you trying to set your intake to YOUR specific situation and physical activity level? Eating fat to satiety or throwing it at everything? Also, what’s your starting / current / goal weights and are you exercising? Do you have any examples of a typical day of eating for you? Do you know what your BF% is?

#3

Congrats on the weight loss. I am down 108 lbs since August 2019 and whenever I have a stall I do a 48 hour fast. Always works to kick start the loss again. I’ve done 13 of them in the last 8 months.

Good luck!

(Jennifer M) #4

Thanks for getting back to me, I track everything maybe not as strictly as I did in the beginning but I track everything- my friend was like maybe you need to lower the calorie intake so sometimes I was eat 200-500 less calories or she also had told me to eat a piece of regular pizza shock the body then go strict on keto again but it doesn’t change anything and I feel like garbage after eating the pizza slice👎🏻 So now I have been going to course and holding that something just jump starts it but nothing I have done eating to satisfy and then trying not to eat in 18:6 shift in fasting but still
Nothing I have done 3 egg fast during my weight loss I did 1 and then 2 to try and kick start and nothing so I am loss
Start weight was 304 and current weight flux between 225-219 and goal weight is 180 but I would like 170
I haven’t done any exercise I have three boys under 11 that are super active and play competitive sports so my world is driving them to clinics and practice and go go to and during the day I run our company so there is little me time not excuse just fact I try to walk while the kids play ball at the park but now with covid for last 2 months that isn’t happening

(Jennifer M) #5

Thank you and congrats to you as well fasting is hard for me because I cook for my kids and plus don’t I fully understand how to fast properly

(Jennifer M) #6

Congratulations on ur 100 club by the way I have big plans when I reach my 100

#7

I’d take a look at what your typical macro layout is like, if you did what (I think) most of us that were bigger did is we start eating too little, too early. When we’re bigger we’ve got a lot of machinery to run and a lot of weight to move around. We have a large amount of muscle mass simply out of necessity. Then we start eating too little too early on and start loosing, lotta fat, lotta muscle. When I started (again) at around 270lbs, still was strong, still real physical, I probably had a TDEE of around at LEAST 3000-3500 cals a day. I was probably (wasn’t tracking then) eating 2000ish at best. Wasn’t hungry!, felt great! But 1000+ calorie deficit month after month after month, I started adapting with metabolic slowdown and muscle loss before I figured out what was going on. I’d try a keto calculator and see what it comes up with for you and see how close that is to your intake. Play with it from there and find your level where you loose again. It’s probably lower than it should be, and it sucks to fix but you can definitely do it, I’m still fixing mine now. Reverse dieting is the fix (and exercise). With the world locked in their houses there is NO shortage of at home and no equipment needed exercise programs that you can do whenever you can pull it off. Timing might REALLY suck, but it does work. The easy way to check if that’s what happened is RMR testing, but that’ll be near impossible to get for a while at least. Once we’re a little less locked down hopefully my place re-opens and I can get another one done. I’m shooting for at least a 500cal/day improvement over my last completely pathetic reading. never give up!

#8

Fast is simple, don’t eat anything :smiley: Okay, some people need electrolytes too even for a short fast but there are even recipes for that drink (I would just eat my electrolytes if I needed them but each to their own).
But being simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. I wouldn’t actually force it. If I am satiated, I may skip the meal, that’s it. Cooking is no problem for me but a trigger for others, yes.

Shocking body with a pizza…? That’s a super bad idea, usually and it feels bad for many of us. Higher calorie day or fasting? Fine, they may work. But carbs… Yeah, some people do that sometimes but many of us feels worse even if we really didn’t eat a ton of a carbs, just some more. You felt worse, it’s clearly not for you, understandable…

How much do you eat? It obviously matters… And I know the situation when you lose so easily for a while then nothing. You try harder and nope. For long. I always try to change something to find a better, even more satiating diet. Even if I lost nothing, things got better when I went the to right direction. And I could do changes I couldn’t before…

It’s all about calories for me, I need to find the most satiating diet for me (done, it’s carnivore or something super close to it), exercising more (needed for health anyway) but others need to stop eating certain items (me too as they aren’t satiating). What do you eat? What are your macros?
Both too little and too much food is a problem. It’s individual though, some people are fine with eating much but proper food and some can handle big deficits, it seems.

(Vic) #9

If you think you cant then your right

If you think you can your right

I was first introduced to the Keto diet few years ago and thought I could not do it because I have kids and a wife that LOVE carbs carbs are everywhere in my House and I thought no way, Its everywhere I look

Then I reached 350 lbs end of last year again at another failed attempt to lose weight and was desperate enough to try

I thought I could not fast because I have been for years following the eat many small sizes throughout the day and was addicted to eating all the time, But because I was sick and tired of the same results and because I was able to go longer periods without food naturally on keto I have transitioned as of late

The interesting thing Is I can look at recipes online or be around family that is eating and not eat and its ok

If you want it enough you can fast no matter what

Also there is a wealth of info on this forum on fasting and a section dedicated to it

(Jennifer M) #10

Not really helpful

(Brandy) #11

I’m coming off an almost six month stall after having lost 96 pounds. In fact, during the last four months, I experienced some incremental gaining due to a medication I should have never taken and stress. I tried all the things you’ve mentioned and more. Carb ups, zero carbs, fat fasts, water fasts, dairy elimination, increased exercise, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

My weight loss has finally kicked in again. My recent efforts have consisted of mindfulness meditation and EFT (tapping) to address stress and sleep hygiene. In terms of food, I reverted to Keto basics. As we become more experienced in our way of eating, our menus can become more complicated and we can get comfortable eating more intuitively. While intuitive eating can be the goal, I’ve found that even after more than two years keto, a healthy intuition is yet to be fully developed. My Keto had gotten sloppy. So I started tracking diligently again. And meal planning. And strictly adhering to an eating window. And staying hydrated! I stopped creating hugely complicated meals and went back to a more restricted list of foods. I started eating the meals that made Keto possible for me in the beginning. Eggs and bacon. Steak. Pork chops. Soups and chili. Butter. Just like that- I’m back down to my lowest ever weight and continue to lose (I’m aiming for 40-50 more pounds to go into maintenance).

Rather than trying to tweak your Keto, consider looking at it with new eyes and just start over. I will say however, there’s is a possibility that you’re just in a long stall because your body is taking a break to work on other things. There’s a possibility that my body was doing the same thing and my weight loss would have reignited even if I hadn’t gone back to basics. Either way, I understand your frustration intimately. Our weight loss has been hard fought and it’s more than discouraging to be in such a long stall after having such amazing initial success- more like devastating. If all the behavioral dietary advice does nothing for you- at least hold firm to this:

This is not a diet wagon from which you have fallen. There is no room for shame and guilt because you haven’t been doing it wrong. What you’ve accomplished thus far is only undone if you decide to undo it. A long stall hinders further loss, but should you stay the course, you are continuing to heal. Best of luck to you.

(Vic) #12

It helped me when I needed get out of my comfort zone

But then again, Depends if your ready to accept it or not

(Jennibc) #13

First and most importantly, let go of that feeling of defeat. Losing 86 pounds in such a short amount of time is no small feat. It took me YEARS to drop 120 pounds and reach my goal. I didn’t find this way of eating until the final 55 but but it still took me almost a year and half to lose that. When I would get discouraged (pre keto) I’d relax my standards and then start gaining again.

Maybe your body is just taking a break. People do hit plateaus - sounds like it is time to mix things up a little. Incorporate at least a 30 minute brisk walk daily. I know it’s hard because of our current conditions but it will lift your mood. If you can’t go outside for whatever reason then put on headphones, play your favorite music, and do some low impact dance in your home. Daily movement is key to good health.

During your six hours of eating, are you eating frequently. I was finally able to drop the final 25 after reading The Obesity Code. I’d started eating from only noon to 7 but I was eating a snack every afternoon. Started eating a bigger noon meal, cut out the snack and finally was able to drop that last weight.

If you haven’t read the Obesity Code, I’d pick up a copy because it does a remarkable job of explaining the science behind insulin resistance and weight gain and weight loss. That’s how I figured out that 3 PM snack was the final thing that had to go.

(Jennifer M) #14

Thank you so much for this truly keeps me feeling like I’m still going to be successful it’s just super hard and for months no gaining on losing same 5lbs at night are down in the morning it’s crazy but I will stay the course and pray it starts moving soon

(Mike) #15

I have stalled for months and months … until I for 5 days stopped eating/drinking any sweeteners of any kind (even sugar alcohols.)

The result? Weight dropped … each and every day. So, for me (the one who before keto could down 6 chocolate cake donuts in an evening and eat the remaining 6 for breakfast the next morning) even sugar substitutes (or Stevia) are a problem.

I am thrilled to know this truth about me. I can now continue to make progress.

(Susan) #16

This is so true for me as well --I discovered last June that I had to make sure that I didn’t have any artificial sweeteners --now I only do on a rare occasion (by example on a concert night to have a diet pop with some vodka, or at Christmas for a Keto desert).