Why isn’t keto working for me?

(Emily ) #1

I started keto 2 weeks ago, at 135lbs / 5”7. I’m doing keto because it’s one of the fastest working diets out there and I have exactly 2 months to lose some stubborn belly fat. Prior to keto I’ve been on a low carb low sugar diet for the past 5 months (wasn’t seeing any results).

Maybe I’m being impatient… but it seems like everyone else loses weight within the first couple weeks but I’m not losing any weight at all. I am following this diet to a tee - it’s been very difficult to eat more fat than protein, so I’m eating fat bombs, keto coffee with MTC oil, and I try to eat 1 avacado per day. I have completely cut out pure carbs and sugars as well as all of the fruits and veggies that aren’t keto friendly.

So either I’m doing something wrong, or I’m just being impatient, or maybe keto just isn’t right for my body type? I don’t want to sound insensitive - but it seems like rapid weight loss only happens for people who start out with a lot of weight to lose in the first place. And I’m only looking to drop 5-10 lbs… so I’m starting to think that keto just wont work for me. And if that’s the case I need to stop the diet ASAP before I start sabotaging my weight loss with all this fat by making myself gain more weight.

Any thoughts?

(Polly) #2

At 5’7" and 135lb you probably do not need to lose any weight at all.

I would avoid any artificial sweeteners and any industrial processed food, so drop the fat bombs. Base your eating on real food and if you have some wobbly belly issue, are you able to do some exercises such as yoga and pilates to tone up a bit in the area which worries you?

If you are hoping to burn some of your own fat then eating MCT oil and fat bombs will enable you to be in ketosis burning exogenous fats rather than endogenous fats.

For this reason I suggest keeping it simple by having less than 20g total carbs per day, making sure that those carbs come mainly from green leafy stuff. Also restricting the number of times in a day when you spike your insulin level by ingesting food or sweetened beverages to two or three at the most.

Let us know how things are going because feedback from other members can be really helpful when we are struggling.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #3

When reality does not match your expectations, the problem is not reality. Here are a few others who had equally unrealistic expectations.

The only way to lose weight fast is to ‘water fast’.

(Jane) #4

No it isn’t. Don’t believe the media hype.

How low carb? If your glycogen stores were already low you won’t see the big drop some people get from going on keto - it’s water, not belly fat.

Of course it does. And the last 10 lbs are the hardest to lose when you aren’t overweight. Even on keto. You’ve been on keto for all of 2 weeks. I stalled out for 2 months trying to lose the last 10 lbs and was strict keto.

Fasting moved the needle on the scale. If you are trying to lose in 2 months you are looking for a crash diet where you will gain it back after the event is over. At 2 months you will just start getting the benefits of keto where your hunger subsides so you fast for 2-3 days comfortably. Right now you would be very uncomfortable- doable, but unpleasant.

If you are looking for short term gains then keto is not the answer.

#5

Keto is not one of the fastest working diets out there. Being in ketosis is no guarantee of weight loss. You can even gain weight on ketosis. Ketosis is driven by carb restriction. Weight loss is driven by caloric restriction (which is slow and non-linear). For many, ketosis just makes caloric restriction easier because a false sense hunger is no longer being created by carbs and insulin.

Most short-term weight fluctuation is going to be a simple change in water retention and digestive tract contents, which can be large early on. But most of that weight will come right back on if someone goes back to old eating habits.

That’s not a thing. You need to keep carbs low to stay in ketosis. Your body needs proteins, so you have to make sure you get enough. After that, it’s ideally about fats (and calories) being consumed in response to hunger. You want your body to be using stored body fat, so you don’t need to be loading up on fat just for fat’s sake.

Keto is not a high fat diet. Keto is not a high protein diet. I eat less of both now compared to before keto.

My primary keto mantra is “Minimal carbs. Adequate proteins. Fats as needed (for satiety).”

(Carl Keller) #6

Is this some type of weight loss contest or a special occassion where you need to lose weight in order to fit into a specific and smaller dress? Otherwise, I would say a healthy way of eating shouldn’t have a duration or deadline. Eating LCHF will improve your long term health and teach you how to have a normal relationship with hunger, among many other benefits. Just because you are not losing weight does not mean it’s not working.

(April Harkness) #7

For 3 months when i started keto i did not see the scale move…or so i thought. But i stuck it out. During this time my trainer was taking vids of my training. By June i had a big whoosh in weight. Looking back, (so glad my trainer took those vids!)i did notice physique changes. Not apparent at the time but slowly and surely they were happening. Glad i stuck it out and even upon reaching goal…continue to make keto my way of life. Not a quick fix. In order for this to work, you must commit.