Weight not shifting after five weeks

[Lisab100]

I have been carb free for five weeks and getting to the gym four days every week since then. However, the weight is not going. I wonder if I am eating too much protein (eggs, seafood and lots of cheese). Another big issue could be hormones, which are hiking up cortisol levels. Is there a way to lower these to give ketosis a fighting chance? Any advice would be appreciated.

[J_A-M]

Please share your height, weight, age, average daily macros and calories, and example food lists along with health conditions or medications. That way we can really dig in and work with you to get a personal plan going.

[Lisab100]

Thanks… I am 5’‘3’ and weight about 65.5kg. I am 51. I haven’t been calculating my macros and calories (may need some info there). The day before yesterday I fasted until after lunch when I had two eggs with some cheese and one vegie hotdog and for tea I ate quorn (no carb vegie substitute mince) shepherd’s pie with a cauliflower mash topping (leftovers from the day before). Yesterday I had a keto bun with egg and cheese after lunch, followed by a keto bun with cream cheese as a late snack and then salmon with coleslaw and mayo. This morning I had a vegie hotdog with a cup of broccolli soup with cheese. Will have coleslaw and mayo with tuna tonight. I do dip into the tub of cream cheese a bit as well as have some peanut butter now and then. I have intermittent fasted this week for the first time and have taken to eating a teaspoon of coconut oil a day.

[Rgbigun]

-Just remember that this WOE/WOL (way of eating/way of life) is about FIRST allowing your body to heal and regulate your hormones (especially for women and there is NO timetable for how long this takes so be patient) and THEN fat is burned off of the body for fuel as a secondary result. It takes time and patience. As I’ve said to numerous people before “you didn’t gain weight or develop health issues over a “week” so don’t expect to lose it or to get healthy in a week” or a few weeks.

I’ve lost almost 70lbs but during the process there were times that I actually went up in weight before I went back down and I am a former bodybuilder and as such this process is no different than when you “cut weight” as sometimes you don’t lose or even gain at various points WITH THE EXCEPTION that you are in this case HEALING the body while during bodybuilding I actually in the long run hurt my body.

So allow your body all the time it needs to heal first. You are worth taking the time to be patient with yourself and your body and I can promise you that if you take the time that you will get more than just fat loss and better health.

You will also regain control over the issues (and deal with them finally) that caused you to become fat or unhealthy in the first place since if you don’t face that head on you may end up back on the same road on the same journey in the future.

Remember that cheating is not an option as it will hold you captive and short of your goals so do your best to set yourself up by being prepared with keto foods by looking to the next day and formulate a plan to be susccessful. KEEP IT SIMPLE! There is not need to make it complicated. EAT FAT, eat MEALS when you are hungry and don’t when you are not.

YOU GOT THIS!!! TAKE A DEEP BREATH…STAY AWAY FROM THE SCALE (it’s NOT a good measure of success as weight can fluctuate UP TO ten lbs a day in some people due to water and sodium alone).

You are awesome!!!

Big Black

[Lisab100]

Thank you for your kind and well considered response, which was quite encouraging. It was a relief to see you had also put on weight. That happened to me this week, undoing all the weight loss to date.
I have always managed to gym excess weight away and I’ve never been a junk-food fan but the last 18 months it has proven impossible to shift the extra 5kg that have descended on me. It is largely hormone imbalance – an issue in itself that has proven to be a trial in terms of finding a solution. This impacts on stress (adrenals) and I think the weight decides I need it. I’m not totally sure that’s what it is, but I there seems to be no other reason as I am doing everything right (to the best of my knowledged) in terms of food and exercise.

[Anniegirl9]

Take body measurements. You could be losing mass but not weight. And really, mass is what we really want to lose anyway. If you were to go to the moon, you would weigh significantly less, but your mass (your size) would be the same. Even significant changes in elevation here on Earth impact weight, because quite simply, weight is a reflection of the gravitational pull on once’s body towards the earth.
Better to lose mass than weight.

[Rgbigun]

Glad that it helped. So proud of you for hanging in there!

[Noapples4u]

It sounds like you might be picking up some “sneaky” carbs. For example, the keto buns and coleslaw–how many carbs in each? How about the vegie hotdogs and the brocccoli soup? Peanut butter now and then can also add up. Lastly, at 65.5 kg (14 pounds), you don’t have a huge amount of weight to lose.

It sounds like you’re a pescatarian and don’t eat meat. It can be tough but not impossible to keep carbs low but fats up.

[Anniegirl9]

My cole slaw is almost all fat. The cabbage is pretty low in carbs.

[Lisab100]

You are very astute… I am a pescatarian!
The buns are only 2.2g each… the coleslaw is just cabbage, kale, spring onion and celery to which I add my own mayo (the Japanese baby bottle variety) and wasabi mayo. My mayos could be causing issues. I only have one vegie hotdog a day cos they add up but one sits around 5 to 7g (lost the packaging).
I know I don’t have a lot to lose, but I put on an extra 6kg, which I have been unable to shift in 18 months. It is uncomfortable for my height. I only want to lose about 5kg and am not aiming for skinny!
Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate all this help as I am running at a complete lose now in terms of plans of attack.

[Noapples4u]

I hear you. I don’t have much more to lose now either, maybe 15 pounds at the most. I’ve found I really have to tighten down on carbs, even more than I did when I started, to keep losing. I’m also trying to improve my horrible insulin resistance, so I’ll be doing this forever.

[uniprod]

You are still very early on your journey with keto so as others have pointed out, don’t worry about weight at all right now. Fat adaptation requires patience. I would just address how you feel right now. If you feel energized and like you recover from workouts no problem, keep at it. If not, don’t stress about cutting back for awhile. This shift in metabolism is a stress to your body, so adding a lot of exercise along with all the other lifestyle factors that cause stress, can lead to more difficulty then necessary. Try to take it easy during transition. If you need the gym, you could try some light yoga to stay fit and incorporate the stress reducing breath work that’s incorporated. Just an idea, I know it’s not for everybody.

[Paendora]

You are awesome!!!

So are you! Great talk for all of us!

[J_A-M]

I’m not sure what your macro intake is either but, a couple things to note. Having very little to lose means losing slower by far as well as the fact that you’re a woman and your hormones have either started to shift or are fully shifting at this stage of life. So, you get the trifecta of not losing scale weight. But, that’s fine. A scale isn’t a useful way to measure health gains or fat loss anyways. Put it away, throw it out, or give it to a neighbor you don’t like. Keto will help repair your metabolism and other internal things even if you don’t suddenly lose the weight. You might consider replacing the vegan/vegetarian junk stuff with real food as well. It may or may not help but the ingredients aren’t impressive in either of those foods you mentioned. For the nutrition value, actual food would be much better. I’ve left some macro and calorie recommendations below, consider loosely tracking some intake to see how well you match up. Your intake looks quite low food wise but, you might be getting enough in fats and I’m just not sure.

1364kcal Daily Calorie Intake (this is a goal, not a limit)
20g Carbs (6%, 80 kcal) (this is a limit)
73g Protein (21%, 292 kcal) (this is a goal/soft limit. Going over or under sometimes is fine.)
110 g Fat (73%, 992 kcal) (this is a goal, not a limit. Eat fat to feel full and have energy.)

[Lunalee13]

Hi LisaB, just wanted to say hi, I am similar ht/wt as you and also on week 5! I am starting out so don’t really know a lot to offer advice wise except hang in there and I know good things will happen! I haven’t lost any pounds in a few weeks either but I feel a lot healthier. One thing I was surprised about is that I found out my coffee had at least 2 g carbs and I was drinking it all day , maybe something like that?

[Lisab100]

Thank you very much for your message. I agree hormones could be adding problems, but it is heartening to read that keto may help with putting my metabolism back on track. I also really appreciate your suggestions about calories, carbs, protein and fats. I still have quite a bit to learn about this so this is a great help to me. I will give it a go.

[Lisab100]

Hey, thanks for that. I had started to think there was something wrong with me as most people seem to lose weight so easily on ketosis. It is great to know someone has experienced a little of what I have. As for coffee… snap. I tend to drink it all day too. I will knock that back from now!

[Rgbigun]

Hey. Didn’t mean to offend anyone by posting the link to the podcast and definitely did not know it was against the rules and I did ask with no response from admins BEFORE I did it so I assumed that it would be okay. I simply thought that since the interview actually covered some of the points made on this post that it could help and for one of us to be interviewed that others would like to hear it. So for those that flagged it know there are no hard feelings and I wish you well. I was just excited to get the word of keto out. Be blessed!

Ron

[Lisab100]

As a keto newbie, I for one really appreciated your thoughts.

[Rgbigun]

Thank you! Obviously wasn’t received by all as trying to help. I don’t make money off of this. I’m blessed that I was able to retire at 48 so i help because I can. Again. Thank you and be blessed!