Weight loss pre and/or post-fat adapted

(Craig Sobel) #1

Hi all. Brand new to this forum (and Keto, in general). I’m totally engrossed by the Keto lifestyle and in the past two weeks have spent hour upon hour listening to podcasts, reading books, and just trying to educate myself the best I can.

So, I’ve lost about ten pound in two weeks – awesome – very excited by that. I’m sure it’s water weight but dropping any weight is good with me!

I have a question that may have been asked before (sorry, if this is a repeat…) I understand the need to be fat adapted to truly have all the advantages of this diet. I also understand that it can take three weeks or (maybe sigficantly) more to become fat adapted. I’m wondering is weight loss is accelerated by being fat adapted – or maybe it’s more slow and steady – or somewhere in between?

I’m currently 299 pounds, eating about 2100 calories a day, with net carbs of 25g or less and at least 70% of my calories coming from fat. I’ve bought into the long term vision of this way of eating – I love it and it’s the first diet I’ve ever been on where I can see doing this for the rest of my life, so rapid weight loss isn’t a deal breaker. I guess I just an hoping to set my expectations.

Wondering if some of you more experienced floks would mind sharing what your early journey looked like, in terms of weight loss.

Thanks, in advance – and looking forward to being a part of this community!

(Lonnie Hedley) #2

Everyone is different. I’ve always been fairly lean, but lost weight rapidly when I went low carb. There are others that are severely obese that lose slowly even though they have lots to lose. Metabolic derangement can play a part. Meaning if you’re more metabolically healthy, weight loss might be easier.

Stick to what you’re doing, and try not to worry about how fast you will lose the weight.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #3

Yes. Reduce the amount of dietary fat you are ingesting and allow your body fat to provide your energy needs. Magic happens when fat adapted.

(Carl Keller) #4

Welcome and congrats Craig on getting into the 200s. :slight_smile:

It took me about 5 weeks to become fat adapted. You’ll know it when you have no cravings for carbs, have no sleep issues, have consistent all day energy and can go all day without experiencing hunger as you used to know it. It’s at this point that you should:

Quite simply, burn the fat on your belly, not the fat in your belly.

Keep in mind that keto is about healing and getting our deranged homones to behave properly. Once we can do that, losing weight without suffering metabolically is as easy as eating right, eating to satiety and eating at the right times.

For myself and for much of what I’ve read about others here in the forum, I’d say for males, a 10 pound weight loss per month is a solid average. I only started 40 pounds from goal and the 10 pounds per month held true for me for the first 3 months but the last month has only been about 5 pounds. The reason is because losing the last 10 pounds is always the hardest since our bodies don’t want to give up their starvation insurance policy.

For larger men I would probably say that losing more than 10 pounds a month is not uncommon. The more you have to lose, the faster it tends to come off… in ideal circumstances.

Best wishes on your journey.

#5

I lost 60 lbs in 3ish months. Everyone’s journey is different! Good luck and have fun!!

#6

Welcome.

The weight loss curve is definitely jiggly for everyone. especially in the first few weeks.

After adaption, for me, it was a pretty steady and more consistent decline in weight, but slower than the first few weeks. I lost about 10 lbs in the first month but didn’t have a real lot to lose.

Otherwise make sure you explore interesting foods while keeping under the keto speed limit. Some people use no imagination then complain about the diet. I reckon we gain access more than we lose …

Make sure you have a good carb tracking app, some people find that a hinderence but many find it a great help.

I weight myself everyday but know I should only consider the numbers over a weak or more.

If I am reading inbetween the lines correctly, you’re interested to know what expectations to set? Everyone is different but have a look at the Before and After Photos and Accountability sections (initially locked but open up soon enough, just post and read a while …) - there are some truly amazing and inspirational weight loss stories with accompanying numbers.

Cheers

(Janelle) #7

Men and women are different, of course, but I’ve seen men drop weight like water (and some who struggle).

I think it has taken at least 3 months for me to become fat adapted (where I can easily skip meals, etc). Weight loss has not accelerated. I track - yesterday, I had precisely 23 whole carbs (not net) and I’m lucky to lose a lb a week, if that. If I ease up even the littlest bit, I gain. So you asked - some people just have a harder time. I’m 5’9, 50 and still have about 65lbs to lose.

(Craig Sobel) #8

Terrific advice and information! I truly appreciate it! With my expectation better set, I won’t let the mental game beat me down. Thank you!

(Craig Sobel) #9

It sounds like you’re dedicated to this, though – impressive. Congrats on your health gains. Can’t wait to say that I’m there, too.

(Craig Sobel) #10

Thanks so much. I am a little obsessive, I guess – I do track everything I eat in myfitnesspal.com and I’m now walking three mils everyday. I, too, weigh in just about every day (I’m trveling for work now, so not today, but i will when I’m back home). I apprecate the info – very helpful!

(Jane) #11

Welcome! This is s great community for support and advice.

My advice to you is you have the right attitude so far. Remember this isn’t a quick weight-loss diet (for most) and think of it as a long-term lifestyle change. You will discover a lot more benefits than just weight loss.

Stalls happen. Longer stalls (4 weeks) need some tweaking. You are either eating the same thing every day and have reached equilibrium with your metabolism and need to shake it up, or tweak the macros. Or fast.

(Craig Sobel) #12

Looking forward to getting to the point where I’m fat adapted and can try fasting. I’ve read about all the benefits – and for the first time in my entire life, I’m actually excited to get to the point where I, voluntarily, won’t eat for an extended period of time! In the meantime, I’ll keep plugging along. Thanks for the advice – much appreciated!

(John) #13

My weight loss was faster at first, then slower but still steady. You will lose pounds more quickly based on the following;

  • If you are male
  • The younger you are
  • If you have a lot of weight to lose
  • How healthy your metabolism is in the first place (diabetic or not, how much/little insulin resistance, etc)
  • How strict you are (no cheat meals/days!)
  • How closely you adhere to the “real foods made from real ingredients” rule and don’t use pre-packaged “keto” or “low carb” foods.
  • How quickly you can cut out snacking and only eat during regular meal times

I found that I started having sufficient conscious control over my hunger signals by about the end of week 4, to where I was able to do an (unplanned) 30 hour fast just because I skipped lunch and dinner one day, and then waited until about noon to have breakfast the next day.

I have only once done an intentional fast (36-hours) but have done a few OMAD days (one-meal-a-day) out of convenience.

My weight loss now that I am most likely fat adapted (in month 5 now) is ongoing but not as fast as the first couple of months.

(Robert C) #14

Based on what you wrote - once you are fat adapted - FAT loss (not weight loss) will be accelerated. I write this because I suspect that currently you are closer to calorie restriction than keto (at 2100 calories a day for a larger male). As you wrote - this big initial loss might be a lot of water weight.

You mention that you are at 2100 calories per day. It might be best to think about getting rid of daily total calories (again, it will lead to calorie restriction). Once fat adapted, you will eat when hungry - this naturally leads to the positive keto effect of varying calories per day. You need this because some days you’ll eat more (keeping your metabolism up) and some days you simply won’t be hungry (or too lazy to cook or go oout) and you’ll burn some body fat.

Calorie targets prevent keto magic - you are at 1800 calories today, it is 7 PM, you are not particularly hungry - but you have some keto treat to get up to your target 2100. You pass your 2100 calorie target after lunchtime - now, even if hungry, you’re going to restrict calories - leading to thinking keto is a bad idea.

Also, this calorie per day idea kills keto - you are at 2100 and not loosing fast enough - so you move down to 1900 hoping to burn an extra 1400 per week from your belly. But really, metabolism slows and you get hungrier because each day you are undereating (simple calorie restriction). Much better to pick up that 1400 calorie weekly total loss by skipping a day of eating or skipping a few meals (when not hungry) but otherwise eating until not hungry.

(Craig Sobel) #15

Great info! That is so helpful. It sounds like you’re doing really well with this, too. Congratulations – and I look forward to the day when I can “unintentionally” fast… becuase, I have never…like never…unintentionally missed a meal! :slight_smile:

(Craig Sobel) #16

I totally get where you’re coming from – and thank you for the advice. In truth, the only reason I know I’m at about 2100 calories a day is because I’m tracking all my food so i can get my macros right. When I first attempted to “go Keto” back in early December, I blew it because I wasn’t getting nearly enough fat…learned that leson too late and had to start again after the holidays. So, this time, I vowed to track everything I ate to make sure I was getting the macros close to where they should be. The “side effect” of that was that i also got a sense of my calorie intake. The 2100 calories is really just sort of an avergae of what I’m eating now-- some days is slighly more, some slightly less. I’m not letting it determine how much food I eat. I’m trying to let my body be the guide… when I’m hungry, I eat good keto-friendly food. When I’m not, I try not to. This is a huge steps for me – I’ve been a serial eater…always snacking thoughout the day. And while I still snack, it’s less than it was. So the calories are not really guiding my eating – just an aknowledgement of where I’ve generally been these past few weeks.

Thank you for the thoughful response. I truly appreciate the advice!

(John) #17

Some of the appetite suppression was natural, some was due to intentional effort on my part. I am not just approaching this (me trying to become healthier and feel better) as “oh, I’ll change the foods I eat and everything else will magically fall into place.”

I am doing a full-court press.

I focused on the mental aspect of it - when I felt the urge to eat, WHY did I want to eat. Was it habit? Triggered by stress? Avoidance of something else? Self-medication for feelings of depression? Mouth wanting a pleasant sensation? Or actual stomach empty, really need to eat something?

I would stop myself every time I was about to eat, and only if it was the “empty/growling stomach” would I give in. I learned I am a stress eater, an eater for a source of pleasure (unrelated to hunger), an eater out of habit. I broke all of that, and it was not easy. I also got to where I could sit with my stomach empty and growling and just observe and not respond to it. THAT is the breakthrough. When you have broken the automatic response between “I’m hungry” and “I’m going to eat.”

I no longer eat for enjoyment, but I still enjoy eating. It is the motivation that is different, not the result. I used to make sure I had a good supply of keto snack food at my desk at work in case I got hungry, so I would not go to the nearby snack machine and nibble on things. That was a good approach until I developed the ability to just not eat. Now all I keep at my desk is some bags of tea and herbal teas for when I want some flavor instead of just drinking plain water, which I also do. I often skip lunch, and just go from breakfast to dinner without eating anything at all. Just coffee, water, tea.

Now mind you, I used to snack all of the time - I think I kept the vending machine guy in business. So this is a huge change for me. I now eat when I (my conscious, logical mind) decides it is time to eat, and I choose foods for their nutritional values and not for how yummy they are going to be.

Fat adaptation helps with that - it’s like a wind at your back because your body can more readily access your fat stores for energy. But you have to put in the self-awareness and self-control to break the other eating cues. Or at least I did.

(Craig Sobel) #18

Boy, do I appreciate what you wrote! That’s me, exactly. I eat because I am. But I’m trying to be very conscious of the choices I’m making now. And, oddly, the food tracking helps. I promised myself that I would write down every single thing that went into my mouth every single day. If it meant having to make a best guess, I would do that, but I wouldn;t accept not tracking it.

But that also made me aware of every single time I ate. I changed my internal rules a little bit in that I made myself submit my food tracking before I ate the food. And, sometimes, I realized that I really didn’t want to eat…so I could remove the entry. I’m not sure how that works, but it seems to, for me.

Thanks for the advice and thoughts. And, good for you for getting to where you are. I look forward to being able to share my story one day soon!

(Jane) #19

This will definitely stall you out down the road because it keeps your insulin high and your body cannot access its fat stores to burn for energy. So it will ramp up your hunger for more energy since it can’t get it from your fat stores.

Trust me - I used to start thinking of my next meal 2 hours after I ate. The first day I glanced at my watch and discovered it was 2 pm and I had missed lunch and didn’t even notice it was a shocker for me! Probably 4 weeks after starting keto.

The sooner you can stop the snacking the better off you will be - especially if out of habit instead of true hunger. If you can’t make it between meals then eat more at your meal.