What am i doing wrong :(

[Tasnimi]

Ive been keto for nearly 2 months… in the first week i lost a whole kg and since then its just been up and down and so far ive only managed to lose 5kg. I keep my carbs super low (20g) and track my macros. I work as a nurse so im always on my feet too, and i usually intermittently fast at work too. So whyyyy am i not losing weight?! Its so depressing to see my weight constantly stay within the same range for so long.

[Shortstuff]

We will need more info please. Example day of eating, macros, calories x

[Shallimar]

Just a thought based on my own experience. …work stress. ?? I had a month long stall going up and down 1 or 2 pounds. I also work on my feet 10 hour shifts and had a very stressful work environment due to managerial conflict (still haven’t been paid for several days worked). Quit 2 weeks ago and started at a new place the same day. Also 10 hours on my feet same line of work. Zero stress now and suddenly I’m down 8+ pounds since the 3rd. Stress / cortisol really sticks it to some of us.
However, having said that, we do need more info such as what you’re eating and when. What your current metabolic health is like, any other health issues, and your age, weight, body fat, etc all would be helpful info.

[Tasnimi]

My calorie limit is 1200 daily and my macros are 5% carbs, 70 fats and 25 protein. However there are days where i dont reach the fat macro… could it mean im eating too much protein? But i dont really exceed the protein macro. Also i have PCOS, which is why i started keto in the first place. Im 25 and currently 75kg. I lost 5kg and then seemed to just plateau. To answer your other questions, i IF theough breakfast, eat around 2 and then eat again at 7 and dont eat from 8pm til the next day. I dont think its stress because although im constantly busy and dont get a second to sit down, im not stressing? Unless i stress without realising…

[Prancing_Pony]

How tall are you? 1200 calories is a very low amount and really not something you should focus on. Are you hungry? Because you should not be hungry on a keto diet.

Also do you work night shift? That can have a massive impact on your hormones and make weight loss much harder so you will need to give yourself a lot more time to get to where you want.

[bschibly]

Couple of things you might try. You don’t mention how often you are eating during the 6 hour time frame that you eat. But if you aren’t already doing it you want to eat distinct meals (2 is plently) with NO snacking. Also, I would suggest moving your dinner time up. Eating an earlier dinner - and not eating for at least 3 hours before bedtime - can really help with weight loss.

Finally, PCOS as you probably know is an insulin resistance syndrome. Insulin resistance and high insulin levels will impede weight loss - and it can be a little difficult to reverse. IF and low carbs help of course, but you may want to try longer fasts. Two days or three if you can. (If 2 or 3 days sounds like mission impossible, you can start with a 24 hour fast once or twice a week- where you still could eat once a day, and then extend that to 36 hours and then 48, etc) This can help break through insulin resistance and kick start your weight loss. Your keto diet will probably work better for you after that.

I also wouldn’t count calories. Eating too few calories can also impeded weight loss. Just eat to satiety.

[Tasnimi]

Thanks for the reply! Im very new to keto so i was wondering what is allowed while IF? I would like to extend my fasts but i also dont want to keel over at work lol. Il give extending IF a go. My issue seems to be that i can lose a couple kg and get to 72kg but then it will creep up back to 75kg. Ive been stuck on those numbers for so long.

[Tasnimi]

Im 5 foot 2 (i think that 157ish centimetres) so im quite short. I thought reducing calories might have an impact but i was mistaken. I do night shifts but i have not done any since i started keto. Im not looking forward to doing them if youre saying they have a negative effect on weight loss!

[KetoCancerMom]

I think you should just start with eating MORE. Include good fats and protein, and don’t be afraid of them. Keep carbs low and drink plenty of water! You’ve got this.

[steka]

I dunno. She didn’t lose weight so far.
I never understood why when the body is already in ketosis eating more or less makes any difference. It just defines how much the body will tap into far stores.
The one thing that will happen is that she gets fuller and eventually has a bad swing on the scale that throws her off.

Eat as little as you can without suffering too much hunger. Take care about sodium, potassium, magnesium and omega 3. I‘m 1,92m tall 139kilos and lost >30 Kilos through Keto at below 1000kcsl per day.
It is a point where Keto pretty much becomes PSMF.

In that Sense : what sodium, potassium and magnesium intake do you have?
Also, what’s your stress level? Never underestimate cortisol!

[KetoCancerMom]

Another thing is that you might have other healing going on that needs to happen BEFORE weight loss will occur. Just something to think about.

[steka]

Sorry to be devils advocate here, but this healing before losing thing is something I never bought. Fact of the matter: our bodies have a caloric demand.
Now, I don’t propose CICO but do a full fast and see how much healing your body will do, or if weight will be dropped in significant rates.

This healing thing sounds to me like a cozy description for : I eat too much, but it’s ok. Overeating on Keto is real. Been through that.

[DKElisaga]

Way back when… when I was new to this way of life, after the initial water weight loss, it took almost a month to see my actual body weight change. Sometimes it went up… sometimes it went down.
I’ve always been a weight lifter and very active physically because of my occupation, so I thought I would have an easier time losing fat weight. I did, but it just wasn’t tangible to me, just by observation.

I was T2D… and suffered metabolic issues, even though I was active duty military and was always more athletic than the normal person. My problem, inadvertantly, was my diet.

At first, my body was healing from all the decades of abuse I did to it, so it wasn’t prioritizing “weight loss”.
I was also getting fat adapted. I stayed the same weight, but my clothing was drastically going down in sizes in some much needed places… and getting tighter in others… and fitting way way better. My body dysmorphia was in high gear and I couldn’t tell or was convinced of otherwise… even though I could feel it in my clothing.

I was building more muscle and losing fat in stages.

My chronic high insulin stopped… and my IR was going away.
Inflammation was all but gone… I didn’t shed anymore water weight… and my overall body weight started to fluctuate 3 to 5 lbs every couple of days… but steadily went down over the course of weeks and months.

Overall body weight and actual fat weight loss are totally separate things. Never trust the scale.

Another thing I learned was that until adaptation, to control programmed cravings, you HAVE to eat until satiety. Cutting calories has the opposite effect. Substitute your carb calories with fat calories so your body does’t think it’s starving, and then it will try to hold on to it.
When you aren’t hungry, don’t eat.

It’s all about patience and tenacity. Don’t let yourself trip you up. Stay full and keep on trucking.
Don’t obsess over the daily. Changes take place we can’t tell are happening.

When you are fat adapted and going smooth, there will be no need to eat as much fat as when you first started. Your body will let you know, and instead of burning the fat you eat, it will start burning the fat you’ve stored.

It will happen; just give it some time. I totally understand; I chomped at the bit and worried in the beginning as well.

[Tasnimi]

Its interesting to see the differences in opinion about eating to satiety and eating as little as you can…i guess i struggle with what rules to follow and what is ‘correct’ on keto.

But thank you to everyone giving me advice! Here in london, knowledge or experience of keto is sparse, so i am quite lonely.

[Momof5]

watch this =) it is great =).

[barns]

dont be 2 hard on yourself. There are alot of different opinions on the right and wrong way to keto. You will learn over time what works best for you. Trial and error. Dont take advice from any 1 of us but do try some of the different things people say to do. At some point you will find more of what works for you. GL

[Nigam_Shah]

If my math is correct, you said you lost 5kg in the first 2 months of going keto. That’s about 10-11 lbs. I’ve been doing keto about the same amount of time (7 weeks) and I’ve lost 13lbs- about 6kgs. For me, this is the fastest I’ve ever lost weight. Every person I talk to (none of whom who do keto) is totally impressed with that rate of weight loss.
This is just a round about way of saying, sounds to me like you are losing weight. 5kgs in 2 months ain’t nothing to sneeze at! Imagine where you’ll be in 6 months!
Maybe you’ve hit a plateau- but based on what I’m learning from the podcast, that is 100% normal. I’ve hit a mini plateau myself; I’ve lost only lost 1 pound in the last 2 weeks. I’m trying some dinner to dinner fasting, and it seems like it is working. We’ll see.
Great to find someone who has the same amount of time as me. Good luck!

[coffeekittie]

I don’t agree that she should eat as little as possible, as that can cause a mindset of purposely keeping calories low. This leads directly to lowering the metabolism, which in turn makes it even harder to get the fat off.

[steka]

Screw the calories. It is what everybody says here - eat until satiety.
Yesterday, for example, i was extremely full after my OMAD Keto lunch. Just to fulfill my macros i had another protein shake afterwards.
In retrospective, this was stupid. I was full and gulped down more nutrients just to fulfill a number.
Went for a run last night and guess what happened. I was still full from my lunch and was borderline throwing up because of the physical exhaustion while still full.

I should have left it at my 850kcal KETO OMAD lunch and that’s it. 2.400kcal deficit? Hell, i’ll take it.

That’s what i mean. If you can, do OMAD KETO. If you can’t, to IF KETO. If you can’t just KETO. Work your way towards longer cycles of fasting - it took me a good 3 months.
Don’t eat just to fulfill a number, eat until your body says “I’m good”.

If that puts you into a 500, 1000 or even 2000 kcal deficit - fine. Nice side effect.

[Shortstuff]

@Tasnimi go easy on yourself. Just keep the carbs below 20g, eat other food as much as you need to in order to not be hungry. No calorie counting, no restriction. Drink enough water to not be thirsty, and make sure you’re adding salt to your meals (I like a pinch added to coffee too).

Be patient, relax and let keto do its thing. Some people need to allow their body extra time to heal before the scale starts moving, but the scale is a poor guide anyway so judge by how you feel instead.