When does fat start breaking down? newbie confusion

(Amy) #1

I’ve almost made it to 3 weeks, and I’m feeling alright, though still not great. Started out 30-50 grams of carbs a day, and have kept it below 20 for at least the past week. I’ve been reading and listening to various sources, including this forum, but I’ve read contradicting things everywhere.
First of all, some of my symptoms (acne, night sweats, feeling shitty, no sleep, hormone changes) are blamed on toxins being released as fat breaks down, but then they say that fat isn’t broken down until you are fat-adapted. So with that logic, acne and other hormone-related symptoms shouldn’t be happening for the first 2 months.

Some sources say fat-adaptation starts happening at 2-3 weeks, others say 2-6 months or more. I understand that it depends on how healthy you are to start with, but is it really that much of a difference?

I’ve read in a few different places that my calories shouldn’t be too low the first few weeks (until I’m fat-adapted) or I’ll lose muscle, and that no fat loss is possible until that time, the first few weeks are all water weight. I’m already losing inches on my waist. Is that water weight?

I only wanted to lose 15 -20 pounds to start with, and I’ve already lost 7 (lost it the first week), so at this rate, I’m going to lose it all before I’m fat-adapted. Does that mean none of it will be fat, or will my composition just change while my weight remains the same?

(Nathan Toben) #2

Fat is constantly being broken alongside glycogen. All processes, sugar-burning and fat-burning, happen simultaneously in the body. The key point is that carbohydrate will always be a preferred source of fuel because it is broken down much faster than fat. So eating a standard diet, the rate at which a body burns fat is super duper diminished.

Becoming fat-adapted, in short, means your body has remembered how to burn fat at considerable enough rates to fuel your daily needs proportionally. But just to run this point home, even when fat-adapted, we are burning stored carbohydrate as well, simultaneously alongside fat.

It’s mostly water weight, and some stored fat as well and probably a slight bit of lean muscle, but nothing to be worried about. You might notice a slowing of weight loss in the coming weeks. This is because your body has expelled all that water and now the real work of body recomposition begins.

Sounds like you’re doing a great job of easing into things and adhering. The weight will eventually come off and if you continue with a ketogenic lifestyle afterwards, you will experience some great health improvement as well.

(Chris) #3

Fat adaptation varies based on your level of metabolic damage, your hormones, what foods you consume, and I’m sure dozens of other factors. It will be different for everyone.

Calories should not be low if you want to heal your metabolism. Muscle loss will come from not eating enough protein, specifically - however it is also important to bare in mind that ketones are muscle-sparing.

The 7 pounds you lost is mostly water. Expect to stall - everyone pretty much does. Don’t plan on hitting your goal prior to being adapted, because it most likely won’t happen outside of starvation. Think of this as a long term plan rather than a “need to fit into this dress within 2 weeks” kind of diet -those fail nearly 100% of the time (statistic made up).

(Amy) #4

Thanks, guys! That clears things up a little. I guess it’s time to start reading the heavy science behind keto instead of a billion “pop-keto” videos and articles!

I’m doing this mainly for health, not weight. In fact, if I was to stay at my current weight (135 lbs, down from 142, 5’10") I’d be happy, but I know I feel a lot better around 120-125 lbs. I have such a small frame (tiny bones and no muscle), even when I weighed 120 and was strength training, my body fat was at 24.5.
My goal is to balance hormones, gain muscle and build bone strength as I had into menopause. I’ve done lower-carb, no grains or processed sugar for a year before (maybe 50-100 carbs/day), and that’s the diet I hope to return to after this keto period of a few months.
I’m having trouble getting enough protein. I’m just not hungry. I can manage to get enough fat in by putting heavy cream or coconut milk in my tea, but I can’t stomach all the meat. Would whey powder spike my insulin?