Need encouragement and advice from veteran Keto-ers!
krichard08
Posts: 62 Member
Hi everyone. I have been following the KETO WOE for close to 5 weeks now. I've lost track. I lost 7 lbs. the first week. 3 the next and then gained 2 lbs. Then lost those two again and have been at the same weight now for about 2 weeks. I have not cheated and have been tracking my food. I have really re-started my workout routine the last week and a half or so. Alternating the 30 Day Shred with resistance/weight training very other day. Is this a normal occurrence? Could I be doing something wrong? I do not have a blood monitor and really dont want to have to buy one. I do have Keto sticks and they have been indicating Morderate to large for the last week. I don't know. I am feeling discouraged. Please share your experiences and expertise! Thank you! 
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Replies
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No, you're not doing anything wrong. A stall at about 4 weeks is normal. The first couple weeks are largely water weight, then you slow back down to normal weight loss amounts. Also, the body needs to adjust to using fat as its primary fuel source (the water weight loss is from the body using glycogen in an effort to continue using sugar as primary fuel).
Additionally, you started a fairly intense workout program, which will cause you to retain water (necessary to allow healing and muscle growth).
Also, as a head's up -- within the next couple of weeks, your ketostix will "stop working." It only measures the ketones you dump as waste, but as your body adjusts and starts using them for fuel, your body won't waste as much. If you really don't want to buy a blood meter (by the way, the Nova Max is a good one, and they're running a deal - $35 for a meter and 2 boxes of strips; they all do something like that off and on, just Google "free ketone meter" and you can usually find someone doing it), then keep that in mind, and remember that as long as you've kept your macros about the same as they are now, you're probably still in ketosis. (If you're discouraged this easily, though, it might be a good idea to pick up a blood meter, so you can see your actual ketosis level.)0 -
Thank you very much for replying! I just needed some reassurance that what's happening is somewhat normal and not me royally screwing everything up! lol I have been fighting the weight loss battle since May of 2013 and have gone up and done (on a reg. Calories In/Calories out regimen) and working out before completely falling off the wagon on everything from July until 5 weeks ago. Total since May 2013 i have gone from 215 lbs. to my current 186. I totally sabotaged myself over the Summer and had some delusions that the weight would just start falling off once I started Keto WOE. I definitely will not give up on it because I have seen too many before and after photos that floored me. I believe in the science and have faith in it. I guess I just need to have more faith in ME also!0
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I'm far from a veteran of this lifestyle, @krichard08 , but I can tell you, the improvements in how I feel alone are worth eating this way for me. I figure if I'm gaining health, the scale will eventually follow. 0
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This is very true @KnitOrMiss!!!!
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What's your weekly deficit?0
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The first several months on keto may wreak havoc on your TOM. That includes messing with how much water you retain throughout the month compared to what used to be normal for you. For some women you'll even get 2 a month at first. It really depends on how drastic the change is in your diet from how you were eating before. The trade off is you'll usually get a huge drop a few days to a week after it starts.
That factor combined with the exercise you've added may make it look like you're yo-yoing for a month or two, but it's not fat doing that, just water.0 -
@JPW1990 good things to know and consider! I @kikor using http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ , my calculations are based on a 20% deficit..if that's what you mean.0
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Dragonwolf gave you great advice. I spent week four a few pounds heavier than my lowest weight before I started dropping again. You'll be gaining muscle from your exercise so the scale may not change as muscle weighs more than fat. Judge your fat loss by your measurements. When a cell loses it's fat it pulls in water and holds onto it for awhile. Eventually it lets it go and it's called the whooshing effect. It explains why one day you can wake up and weigh yourself and you'll all of a sudden 2 pounds lighter.0
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Thank you @cdn_beaver! I'm so glad to have everyone's perspective!0
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This is the craziest scale roller coaster ever!!! I hop on the scale this morning just for the heck of it and today it's 2 lbs. lighter than yesterdays reading. I believe the scale is engaging in some type of slow torture to ultimately drive me insande!! lol0
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krichard08 wrote: »This is the craziest scale roller coaster ever!!! I hop on the scale this morning just for the heck of it and today it's 2 lbs. lighter than yesterdays reading. I believe the scale is engaging in some type of slow torture to ultimately drive me insande!! lol
Mine did that too. I hated it, so I switched to only weighing in on Thursdays.
Dan the Man From Michigan0 -
It was driving me crazy as well. I only weigh on Fridays now. If its higher then I just tell myself I probally missed a low day.0
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stillonamission wrote: »It was driving me crazy as well. I only weigh on Fridays now. If its higher then I just tell myself I probally missed a low day.
LOL..."like"0 -
I weigh daily or close to it, as well as logging it whenever I weigh even if it's higher. But I keep in mind that if I gained 3 pounds in 2 days there's no way that it's either fat or muscle, just water.0
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Weighing daily makes me feel better. I see the ups and downs daily, and it makes it much easier for me to accept them as normal. If I weigh weekly and I gain weight I don't know if I've been trending down and the weigh-in day is just the one anomoly, or if I'm actually gaining weight. Daily weighin reduces/removes my anxiety about this
For others that weigh weekly or less often, I totally understand why that works for you. To each their own here.0 -
I am a daily weigher when in weight loss mode. I find if I am not weighing daily, I am avoiding the scale for a reason. I accept ups and downs when weighing daily, as long as the trend is downward I am happy.0
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I could be described as a "veteran keto-er" (and Paleo) but I'm WAY more focused on health than the scale. Been here a long time, faced lots of challenges including learning that I will NEVER be able to eat moderate carbs and be ok (T2 diabetic). The only thing that you are doing wrong is being obsessed with the scale. Why do you let a number on the scale discourage you? It only indicates gravity's effect on your body. In fact, you can be feeling "discouraged" over muscle gain and that's silly. Scale obsession and finding motivation only with consistently declining numbers is not sustainable for the long term. Why is it a race? When you reach your goal do you go back to how you ate before? Or is this a lifetime change?
After years of working on improving my health, which I'm mostly succeeding in, my best advice is to shift your focus from scale weight to achieving optimal health. Non scale victories are the win.0 -
I understand what you are saying, but from my point of view steadily declining weight numbers are more motivating than constantly remaining or climbing numbers. It's not a race but if this WOE isn't going to work for me to lose weight and maintain my goal weight then there is no sense in following this lifestyle. This was my main concern and why I wanted everyone's opinion on if I am following everything correctly and if they have had similar experiences. I applaud you for finding a WOE for your situation I just hope that I find that to be true for me and my needs as well. If this is a race, this is the longest race I have ever been in!! lol It's taken me almost 2 years to lose 28 lbs!!
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krichard08 wrote: »Hi everyone. I have been following the KETO WOE for close to 5 weeks now. I've lost track. I lost 7 lbs. the first week. 3 the next and then gained 2 lbs. Then lost those two again and have been at the same weight now for about 2 weeks. I have not cheated and have been tracking my food. I have really re-started my workout routine the last week and a half or so. Alternating the 30 Day Shred with resistance/weight training very other day. Is this a normal occurrence? Could I be doing something wrong? I do not have a blood monitor and really dont want to have to buy one. I do have Keto sticks and they have been indicating Morderate to large for the last week. I don't know. I am feeling discouraged. Please share your experiences and expertise! Thank you!
K,
I looked at your diary. You're doing a fine job with keeping your carbs down (much better than I am doing). I see your daily calorie intake being kinda high. I am 253 lbs and in order for me to lose, I have to eat about 1400 cal @ day or less. What I am noticing is, that some people like Fit_Goat can keep his carbs really low (not eating plants) and he can eat crazy amounts of calories and maintain/lose. I don't think that works for everybody and I don't know why. I would suggest you lower your cal's down a couple hundred, and maybe do a 24 hr water fast (or just skip a day of eating) to break things loose.
Dan the Man from Michigan
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@krichard08 Another thing to consider too, is that it is recommended that you stick with any dietary changes for a minimum of 3 months, preferably 6 months, to see a true impact of the program. Nearly ever eating method has different initiation periods and adjustment periods, and around 5 weeks hasn't even given you a chance to level out really.
And as far as progress, if you didn't put on far more than ten pounds in one month (without health condition or medicinal side effect, this is very unlikely), it's not realistic to expect to drop it at a significantly faster rate than you gained it. It is far harder to lose weight than it was to gain in.
We all want all of our hard work to pay off in progress RIGHT NOW, but weight loss is not a simple math equation. If it were, none of us would need to be here in the first place, right? You may bust every bit of your tail this week, and the losses from that show up 2 weeks from now. Especially as this way of eating burns fat. The body then fills those empty fat cells with water (which is more dense than fat, and the same volume can easily weigh more, hence the down and back up effect) until it is absolutely certain those fat cells are not needed any more, then it can release the fat. This sometimes happens in a "whoosh" and a lot at once. Other times, bodies regulate more slowly.
And what the others were talking about as far as looking elsewhere from the scale, have you lost inches? Are your clothes fitting better? I got down to 244 and change, dropped an pants size, when back up to almost 249 (where I couldn't wear the smaller size before), but I can still wear the smaller size, so obviously my body is doing something I don't currently understand.
Patience and perseverance are what we need right now. Motivation is fickle. Determination will see you through. Your numbers alone for weight my not match up to your expectations, because as you gain muscle and lose fat, your pounds could stay the same, but you could lose far more in inches. One number is taking things out of context. You need measurements, pictures, blood work, and then the scale for a true picture of progress and success....0 -
In January into the first week of February I was eating 1500-1700 calories, I dropped the number - my goal is now set at 1250, but I usually eat 1400-1500 (and try to do cardio a few times a week - which could both help or hurt) and I lost 3 pounds in February.... which kind of sounds depressing to say out loud... but it is a win, somewhere in the vicinity of 1 pound a week. You could try dropping the calories down 100 and see what happens over a week or two.
Also I have heard that artificial sweeteners can stall some people, I'm not sure if you use them or not.
Ditto to what Knit said - Patience and perseverance - they are your best friends.
In reference, when I used the Keto calculator, it suggested I eat 1310 calories, and if I did everything perfectly I would loose 5 pounds by April 25th. -- Patience and perseverance!0 -
What a great thread. And what a great reminder- I need to practice patience and perseverance too.
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The calories that I have set in MFP are the daily cal. intake suggest by http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/. I will try playing around with it a little bit.0
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Of course weight loss is incentive... but you mention already getting "discouraged". I lost my first 50 pounds quickly and easily, then lost 25 far more slowly. Many plateaus, and then I regained 25 over the last 15 months while experimenting with eating a more moderate carb intake. I was trying to give you advice on how to get past the times when there will be no weight loss, and even gains, so that you don't get "discouraged" and your lifestyle will be sustainable for the long haul. Those times are going to happen even if you are doing EVERYTHING RIGHT and regardless of what lifestyle you have adopted.
If it's about health, you wouldn't find it "pointless".0 -
krichard08 wrote: »The calories that I have set in MFP are the daily cal. intake suggest by http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/. I will try playing around with it a little bit.
I started with those numbers. But quickly found out that I must be more sedentary than their calculations and/or there are more carbs/calories in the food that I eat. So, in order to make it work for me, I created a buffer. I subtracted 400 cal's from their recommendations. Then that allowed me to be "wrong" and still lose weight. SO, in other words, if I eat something that was supposed to be 500 calories, but it really had 700, I'm still under.
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
P.S. If you ever watched the movie called, "The Matrix" I'm the guy in the pod next to Neo, on the right.... that's how sedentary I am.
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krichard08 wrote: »Hi everyone. I have been following the KETO WOE for close to 5 weeks now. I've lost track. I lost 7 lbs. the first week. 3 the next and then gained 2 lbs. Then lost those two again and have been at the same weight now for about 2 weeks. I have not cheated and have been tracking my food. I have really re-started my workout routine the last week and a half or so. Alternating the 30 Day Shred with resistance/weight training very other day. Is this a normal occurrence? Could I be doing something wrong? I do not have a blood monitor and really dont want to have to buy one. I do have Keto sticks and they have been indicating Morderate to large for the last week. I don't know. I am feeling discouraged. Please share your experiences and expertise! Thank you!
K,
I looked at your diary. You're doing a fine job with keeping your carbs down (much better than I am doing). I see your daily calorie intake being kinda high. I am 253 lbs and in order for me to lose, I have to eat about 1400 cal @ day or less. What I am noticing is, that some people like Fit_Goat can keep his carbs really low (not eating plants) and he can eat crazy amounts of calories and maintain/lose. I don't think that works for everybody and I don't know why. I would suggest you lower your cal's down a couple hundred, and maybe do a 24 hr water fast (or just skip a day of eating) to break things loose.
Dan the Man from Michigan
To be honest, I'd argue that your calories are abnormally low less so than hers are high. Even doctors/nutritionists say that I should eat 1500-1600 calories (while the calculators all say about 1900) to lose weight, even sedentary, and I'm a 255lb, 5'9" female.
If that's what works for you, that's fine of course, but do keep in mind that your calorie goal lower than normal for most men.0 -
krichard08 wrote: »The calories that I have set in MFP are the daily cal. intake suggest by http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/. I will try playing around with it a little bit.
I started with those numbers. But quickly found out that I must be more sedentary than their calculations and/or there are more carbs/calories in the food that I eat. So, in order to make it work for me, I created a buffer. I subtracted 400 cal's from their recommendations. Then that allowed me to be "wrong" and still lose weight. SO, in other words, if I eat something that was supposed to be 500 calories, but it really had 700, I'm still under.
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
P.S. If you ever watched the movie called, "The Matrix" I'm the guy in the pod next to Neo, on the right.... that's how sedentary I am.
Thank you Dan so much for your post. I see your point about the buffer and that really is a good idea!! I have been struggling with the number in my head. When I was doing your run of the mill CICO I was eating 1200 a day and going up to 1600 and some days more recently had me a little worried. I think I am going to keep it as is for a couple more weeks and see what happens, and then lower it a little bit if need be.0 -
krichard08 wrote: »krichard08 wrote: »The calories that I have set in MFP are the daily cal. intake suggest by http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/. I will try playing around with it a little bit.
I started with those numbers. But quickly found out that I must be more sedentary than their calculations and/or there are more carbs/calories in the food that I eat. So, in order to make it work for me, I created a buffer. I subtracted 400 cal's from their recommendations. Then that allowed me to be "wrong" and still lose weight. SO, in other words, if I eat something that was supposed to be 500 calories, but it really had 700, I'm still under.
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
P.S. If you ever watched the movie called, "The Matrix" I'm the guy in the pod next to Neo, on the right.... that's how sedentary I am.
Thank you Dan so much for your post. I see your point about the buffer and that really is a good idea!! I have been struggling with the number in my head. When I was doing your run of the mill CICO I was eating 1200 a day and going up to 1600 and some days more recently had me a little worried. I think I am going to keep it as is for a couple more weeks and see what happens, and then lower it a little bit if need be.
I'm glad you see what I am saying. If you think the numbers calories are right, then its probably because you aren't:- measuring the weight of your food,
- Using a machine to analyze the macros for each piece of food,
- inputting the wrong food is (whether it be you or the incorrect selection of the food or the manufacturer is under-estimating the label,)
- Or you picked (or was given) an exceptionally fatter-than-normal, more-carbs-than-normal piece of {insert your food here}.
I mean, unless you are at John Hopkins, under strict supevision of everything you eat, I doubt you (not you personally) are following the correct amounts.
Dan the Man from an Imperfect Diet Land
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